Itachi and Sakura: Two Souls of One Heart 2!
by iloveneji44
Summary: A month has passed since Sakura last saw Itachi. However, the next attack comes much sooner than expected. Haunted by the last battle where Sasuke failed to acheive his revenge, Sasuke decides to inflict pain upon Itachi the only way he can.
1. Chapter 1

*Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto, nor any characters in it, but if you work for the people who make the Naruto series and like whatever the hell it is I'm doing, please give me a job as the one I'm at sucks terribly and my boss is a slave driver who makes me work the day after Christmas, on federal holidays, and overtime without any pay.... Thank you....

* * *

A harsh wind blew across the plains, brushing the blades of grass that reflected in the moonlight. Standing at the edge of the forest was a dark figure whose clothes whipped in the wind as it passed. As the breeze swept back his hair, it revealed eyes that seemed to glow with rage. Sasuke gritted his teeth. Unsheathing his sword, he slashed a leaf caught in the breeze, slicing it in two.

Lowering his sword, Sasuke clenched his hand into a fist.

"….Uchiha…Itachi…."

Sasuke was enraged. Even after all this time, the distance between Itachi and himself seemed to have barely shortened. All of his hard work and training seemed to have gotten him no closer to his revenge, and the memory of his last battle seared into his mind like a brand. Infuriated, Sasuke sheathed his sword and looked out over the plains.

As Sasuke stood there in silence, his expression soon changed into a slight grin. Smiling to himself, Sasuke then turned to walk away, his dark figure dissipating into the shadow of the trees.

* * *

As the sun rose over the eastern horizon, the tips of its rays had just reached the faces of the Hokages that were carved into the high stone cliffs surrounding Konoha. The air was crisp with the morning dew as the early dawn cast a blue glow over the quiet streets. Barely a soul was awake as only a few old folks made their morning walks through the village. A shopkeeper opened his doors and moved slowly around the bins that would soon be filled with vegetables. As he did so, he waved to an old man who passed by, knowing that he'd be back in half an hour to buy his groceries.

Although the shadows were chilled and the streets were quiet, the Konoha Medical facility was already up and preparing for their patients. As Sakura walked down the tiled floors of the infirmary, she could hear the voices of nurses in the distance, giggling with the morning gossip. Sakura's footsteps echoed softly as she made her way through the corridor. Walking slowly along, she crossed in and out of the shadows before stopping in front of an open window. Staring out at the sky, she hugged her clipboard to her chest.

It had been a month since she had last seen Itachi. On Tsunade's orders, Sakura was to remain in Konoha to fully recover from her injuries. She did not think that it was such a good thing though. The more she was left to do nothing, the easier it was for the pain of her loss to seep into her heart as she was allowed to dwell on Itachi. Reaching down to grab her blouse, Sakura pulled it up to pass her hand over her stomach where a bruise in the shape of a handprint once lay. The absence of the bruise reminded her of her last adventure, and it made her feel lonely.

Just as the handprint had slowly begun to fade, so too was Sakura's memory of Itachi. With each passing day, Sakura found it more and more difficult to remember the tiny details that she loved so much about Itachi. The curves of his face, the smell of his chest, the feel of him lying next to her, all of these things that she made a point to remember each day were slowly beginning to vanish. Closing her eyes, Sakura tried hard to draw in her mind the shape of his eyes, and the way it would soften only when he looked at her.

Holding up her hand, Sakura looked at it. She tried hard to remember the size of Itachi's hand compared to hers. Squeezing it into a fist, she bit her lip and her eyes began to tear. After all this time, it still hurt just as much as the first day without him, and now she was left to slowly lose her grip on him like this. It felt like she was wasting away in Konoha, unable to live since she had left Itachi's side.

Putting her hand back down, Sakura took a deep breath and calmed herself. She knew that with time she would heal, and acknowledged that this was a choice that they both had made. Collecting her thoughts, she looked back out the window, only to find that there was a face on the other side staring back at her.

"Sakura-chan…" said Naruto, waving at her with a smile.

"Oi, Naruto? What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Tsunade-obaachan wants me to come in for a check-up. Something about 'one cannot sustain life on ramen alone' or something like that."

Sakura giggled. She was happy to see him.

Ever since they had returned to Konoha, Naruto had never failed to visit Sakura every day. As she listened to him going on about how he didn't need any other nourishment aside from ramen, she smiled to herself as she knew he would visit her again. She knew in her heart that he did not consider this encounter as his visit.

"Well, I have to go see her now. I'll catch you later, Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he climbed through the window.

Smiling, Sakura waved at Naruto before turning around to walk back down the hall.

"Oh! Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto after her. "Did you want to come to the Sakura Festival? I'm meeting up with Kiba and everyone else over there!"

"Mmmmm….Hai! I'll see you there, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto smiled and watched her as she walked away. Turning down one of the other hallways, he looked around at the signs outside the door.

"A-7….A-7…. Ah, here it is…."

Pushing open the door, Naruto peeked in.

"Ano….."

"Ah! Naruto! You're late, come in!" barked Tsunade who sat on a stool.

Naruto walked over and hopped onto a gurney. As he sat there waiting for Tsunade as she ran her eyes over his medical chart, he lightly tapped his feet on the base of the bed.

Tsunade got up and began examining him.

"Hmmm….yupp, you're going to die…." said Tsunade as she observed him.

"WHAT!?"

"….of malnutrition if you keep this up…"

"Tsunade-obaachan don't say stuff like that!" yelled Naruto breathing a heavy sigh.

_FWAP!!_

Tsunade smacked Naruto across the back of his head with her clipboard.

"Quit calling me obaachan!! Now, you are to eat ONE vegetable dish with every meal! That is all…"

* * *

As dusk fell upon Konoha, the surrounding forests were lit up with thousands of lights so that the color of the Sakura blossoms mixed with it to create a pretty pink glow. As villagers made their way towards the festival, they could see smoke rising from the trees, indicating where the food tents were located. The smell Yakitori and Takoyaki filled the air. The stream of smoke and smell enveloped the villagers as they approached. Blinking away the haze, they could see that the festival did not fall short of everyone's expectations.

Everyone was dressed for the occasion. Little girls were decorated with colorful kimonos and their hair was decorated with tiny ornaments while the boys wore much less fanciful clothing, but it was necessarily so as they were the ones who darted between the crowds, kicking up dirt as they went. As the sound of joy and laughter filled the air, twilight had struck and the stars above were beginning to appear.

Naruto came upon the spectacle wide-eyed and practically drooling. There were numerous tents housing different varieties of food lined up along both sides of a dirt road. Some tents housed Yakitori and Takoyaki, while others sold Mochi and Dango. Walking towards one of the tents, Naruto marveled at a stand that was selling Onigiri filled with just about everything there was to fill it with, and stacks upon stacks of bentos filled with Teriyaki fish and fried chicken. The smell that was most attractive however, was the smell of Yakisoba being fried and tossed. Naruto, following his nose, made his way directly to the stand and bought a pack. Turning around, Naruto's attention was immediately caught by a new distraction.

Not only were there tents of food and treats, but games galore. Naruto watched a tent that was filled with small giggling children who tried to catch goldfish from a basin using only a net made of paper. One small boy managed to pick up a tiny fish when a roar of applause came from the little hands that surrounded him. As the person handling the stand dumped his tiny goldfish into a bag filled with water, more children flocked to play the game when they saw that it was clearly possible to catch one.

Over at another stand, a little girl was tugging at her daddy's kimono and pointing at the Wagashi stand. Her eyes seemed to sparkle as she came within inches from the candies shaped from peaches to flowers to animals of all sorts. As her father pulled out a small pouch of money, he let her pick out her favorite one, a tiny pink pig.

Naruto marveled at the joyous moment but it quickly turned to sadness. He never had anyone buy him treats like this. No one he knew, except for maybe Jiraiya, had ever bought him anything like this.

"Oi! Naruto!" came a voice from behind.

Walking up behind him was Shikamaru and Kiba.

"Wow, you're early," said Naruto, looking back and forth between them.

"I got here early with Chouji. He's already hit the Yakitori stand twice," said Shikamaru with a troublesome sigh.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Kiba, where's Akamaru?"

Kiba pointed over to the Takoyaki stand. There, Naruto saw that Akamaru stood in line behind Chouji, who was buying three sticks of Takoyaki.

As Naruto watched Akamaru approach the person worker behind the counter, the man smiled.

"Ah! Akamaru! We have your order!" the man shouted in joy.

Reaching behind the counter, the man pulled out a big stick with huge Takoyaki balls skewered on to it. After Akamaru had a firm grip on the stick, the man reached into a pouch that was tied to Akamaru's neck, pulling out some yen to pay for the food.

"WAH!!" yelled Naruto, pointing at the giant balls of Takoyaki.

"No fair…." Mumbled Chouji, eyeing out Akamaru's stick as he went by.

"How!?..." fumbled Naruto.

"Well, Akamaru doesn't always want to eat what I do, so we started this arrangement with the vendors about two festivals ago. Akamaru just goes for the food, they take the money, and he gets what he wants while I go stand in another line. Some, like that guy, prepare especially for Akamaru's big appetite," explained Kiba.

"Wow….."

As the three of them chattered on, Akamaru went and sat on a patch of grass a while away and using his paws to hold the stick, he pulled the balls of Takoyaki off with his mouth. Soon, a small voice was heard from behind the boys.

"Konban-wa," said Hinata meekly.

"Konichi-wa," said Shino.

"Osu!" said Naruto, waving at them. "Wow Hinata, that's a nice purple kimono you're wearing…"

Hinata blushed.

"…..You look pretty rather than what you normally look like…."

_FHWAP!!_

"OW!!" yelled Naruto. "What was that for!?"

"That's a nice way to put a complement!" barked Kiba.

"What!? What did I do!?"

Kiba shook his head. There was just no helping this one.

As the group waited, it wasn't before long that they heard giggles. Turning, they saw that Sakura and Ino were making their way up the path.

Sakura was wearing a pink kimono whose shade was slightly darker than the color of her hair. The obi that tied around her waist was a yellow gold, and her hair was pinned up in a beautiful bun. The material of her kimono had flowers and trees of the Sakura, dotted with clouds that were lined with gold. Beside her, Ino looked just as lovely. Her blue kimono was tied with a silver obi, making it seem as if she were a reflection of the moonlight. Upon her kimono were chrysanthemums, and cranes that were weaved to be in flight were flanked by silver clouds, a symbol of goodluck to the person who wore it. Coupled together, Sakura and Ino looked as if they were not of this earthly plane.

Naruto had stopped breathing. The sight of Sakura was breathtaking. As he studied every flower and thread that dotted her kimono, he unknowingly let his mouth fall slightly open. To Naruto, even with all the bustling around him, the world had seemed to fall silent, with nothing but Sakura's grace to leave echoing footprints.

"Konichi-wa!" said Sakura and Ino when they spotted the others.

Coming to a stop before Naruto, Sakura looked at the dumbfounded expression upon Naruto's face.

"Uhh…..You look very nice tonight, Sakura-chan…" muttered Naruto after a good pause.

"Arigatou, Naruto-kun," smiled Sakura as she looked up and down at his blue kimono.

"Where's my complement, Naruto?" grinned Ino, knowing the exact reason for Naruto's speechlessness.

"Ah! Komen! You look very pretty as well, Ino!" said Naruto, realizing his obviousness.

"AH!!" gasped Sakura. "Souvenirs!!"

Looping one arm through Ino's and the other through Hinata's, Sakura took off towards a tent that housed a number of eager young girls swarming about the accessories.

Sighing, Shikamaru shook his head. "Girls…."

Soon the girls rejoined them, all of them with little packages full of mementos and accessories.

"Let's go get food and find a spot to sit," said Kiba, directing the pack.

"Okay!" said Ino, slightly shrieking because of the excitement.

When they had all bought the food that they wanted, the group moved deeper into the forest to find a nice spot. Spreading out, they covered more ground so that they could find the perfect location.

As they made their way through the trees, Naruto slipped away to follow Sakura at a distance. Staring at her from afar, he noticed that she had bought a new hairpin from the shop. Looking back and forth, the tiny plastic Sakura strands flickered with the sound of a tiny bell every time Sakura turned her head. At this moment, Naruto never felt more at peace with just being near someone. As he watched her through the trees, Naruto felt that it was she who complemented the Sakura blossoms, and not the other way around.

When the group found a nice spot settle, they spread out a big blanket so that they could enjoy their food. Sharing their food, they each got to sample what the other booths had to offer.

As the girls huddled together, Hinata had a burning question that she was dying to ask.

"Ano…Sakura…" Hinata whispered. "Did Sasuke really hurt you?"

Sakura put down her chopsticks, as did Ino who looked painfully at Sakura.

"Hai….he did," answered Sakura.

"That jerk…." said Ino, sucking on the end of her chopsticks for comfort.

"So…then is what I heard about Itachi true?" asked Hinata more cautiously.

Sakura nodded.

"But, didn't he kill the Uchiha clan?" said Hinata, knowing perfectly well that he did, but trying to get Sakura to tell her reasoning.

"…He did…" said Sakura. "But….while I was with him, things were very different. He was kind and gentle to me. The way his eyes looked at everyone else was very different compared to whenever he looked at me…. I do not know what made him kill his family, but what I do know is that what I felt for him was real, and what he felt for me was real. At the time, I felt it was the right thing to do. I have no regrets, and I was confident in my decision…."

"Well….whatever your decision is, know that we are behind you," said Ino, smiling to Sakura.

Hinata also smiled and nodded.

"Arigatou…" said Sakura, sighing a deep sigh. Looking back and forth between them, she was glad to have friends like them.

"Hey, let's play hide and seek!" said Kiba suddenly.

"Hide and seek!? We're chuunin!" coughed Ino, nearly choking on her Yakisoba.

"Exactly, that's what would make it interesting," responded Kiba. "We haven't worked with each other for a long time, so it'd be nice to see what we've all got hiding up our sleeves."

"Yeah!" shouted Naruto, his mouth stuffed with rice.

The others simply smiled at the idea.

"Alright! Let's go!" shouted Kiba, jumping up.

"NO BUGS!!" said Kiba, pointing at Shino.

"NO SHADOW MIMICRY!!" shouted Naruto, pointing at Shikamaru.

"Hai, hai…." said Shikamaru, looking slightly into it. "But no using Akamaru either, Kiba."

"Fine, it's settled."

After doing a little game to determine who would be "it," they decided that Shino would be the first person who was out.

Taking off in all directions, the thrill of the chase was all the more exciting now that they were chuunin. However, Shino is a very cunning opponent, and it was not long before they were caught. All except for one: Shikamaru.

"Go Shika!!" yelled Ino.

_Damn, how did it end up like this,_ thought Shikamaru who was hiding in a tree. _I should have just given up at the start and save me the trouble…._

"Shikamaru…you have been found…" said Shino from a branch above.

"Wow, how did you find me?" asked Shikamaru.

"There was a disturbance in the bugs on this tree."

"Go figure… so who's next!" yelled Shikamaru to the others.

"I'll go!" said Sakura, totally into it now.

The group dispersed yet again, and Sakura leaned her arm against a tree and began to count.

"…san…ni…ichi….Ready or not, here I ……"

Sakura had turned around. Standing right before her was a man. At first she saw a bare chest clothed over with a white gi. His pants were black, and wrapped around his waist was a purple rope.

Sakura stopped breathing. She had seen this outfit before. Freezing, the only sound that could be heard was the wind brushing through the branches above. Slowly looking up, Sakura found Sasuke's eyes red with rage as he stared back at her.

"Start running…" said Sasuke.

Sakura dashed to the side and began to run away as fast as she could.

_"NARUTO!!"_ she shrieked.

"SAKURA!?" yelled Naruto, stunned by the sudden fear in her voice.

Taking off in the direction that her voice came from, Naruto's heart raced as he had never heard fear in her voice like that before. He felt a cold chill run down his spine and his heart told him that something was very wrong. As dodged between the trees, he was soon joined by Shikamaru.

"Naruto! What happened!" asked Shikamaru, pulling kunai from his kimono.

"I don't know…." said Naruto. The thought of not knowing drove him insane.

Soon the others were by their side, and as they neared the spot where they heard Sakura's scream, they came upon her running away from someone.

"Sasuke!" gasped Naruto.

Everybody came to a hault. The shock of seeing Sasuke again had stopped them in their tracks, and as Sasuke laid eyes on them, he too came to a pause.

_"SASUKE!!"_ yelled Naruto, immediately charging straight at Sasuke with a kunai in his hand.

Sasuke within a second, drew his sword to meet Naruto's blade so that they locked. The others finally snapped out of the trance and began to move.

Shikamaru sent his shadow to try and restrain Sasuke. However, being to quick, Sasuke sent out a full body chidori to shock Naruto as he dodged Shikamaru's attack. Dashing towards Sakura, he met Ino in his path. Hesitating because it was Sasuke, Ino soon found his arm wrapped around her waist, slamming her through a tree. The explosion sent a puff of smoke and electricity towering into the sky. It was a wonder that no other shinobi had joined the fight by this point.

Shino sent a swarm of bugs at Sasuke, but his full body chidori took them all out in one sweep. Kiba and Akamaru were quick to join the fight as they transformed to send devastatingly powerful attacks at the enemy. However, Sasuke's sharingan was much too quick for the duo, and they were sooner on their backs than making any hits.

As Chouji sent his meat tank to Sasuke, the electric current that went up Sasuke's blade was enough to dispel the attack and it seemed as if Sasuke was the perfect weapon. Hinata's attacks were fruitless. Her need to get within range made her a disadvantaged opponent, and while Naruto and Shikamaru did what they could to make a solid blow, they too were blown back as Sasuke fearsome speed took them out.

As they all got up from their falls, it was too late. Sasuke had knocked Sakura down, sending her skidding across the forest floor to end up right before them. Wavering, Sakura stood up to face Sasuke, but before she knew it he was behind her grabbing her hair. Stepping on the back of her knee, he made her kneel in front of them.

"Naruto…." said Sasuke, his voice full of malice. "There's a message I want you to give to Itachi….I am going to kill Sakura." With that, Sasuke stabbed the tip of his sword straight into Sakura's shoulder and sent a chidori through the blade.

Sakura screamed and writhed with pain. When the electrical current subsided, she went limp. Grabbing her around the waist, Sasuke picked her up and began to make away with her.

_"SAKURA!!"_ screamed Naruto.

Anyone who was left standing chased after them. Even though every muscle in their body ached from the electric shock, they mustered whatever strength they had left to not lose sight of Sakura.

The fight left them feeling as if it was futile. Every time they got near Sasuke, he was quick to repel them with his chidori. It almost seemed pointless to even follow him, but they stayed close, trying to think of a way to get Sakura back.

Suddenly, Naruto did something that they had never seen before. As he stared intently at Sakura in Sasuke's grasp, he managed to pull together a rasengan using a single hand. As the rasengan swelled Naruto picked up the pace, and soon he began to close the gap between him and Sasuke. Sasuke, grinning at the sad attempt, knew that Naruto wasn't quick enough to make it a hit. However, that's not what the rasengan was for.

As Naruto closed in on him, Sasuke sent bolts of electricity back at Naruto, who in turn used his rasengan to attract the electricity and wrap it around his rasengan. The point of the rasengan was not to strike Sasuke, but rather to quell his attacks to get close. Absorbing the electricity, it sparked around the rasengan, finally bringing Naruto close enough to touch Sasuke with it.

Lunging forward, Naruto shoved the rasengan into Sasuke, coming in at him at an angle that forced him to release Sakura. Grabbing Sakura's arm, Naruto yanked her into him and immediately let the rasengan dissipate to get a hold of her better and retreat. The others who followed closely were prepped for the defense.

As Naruto managed to escape the line of fire, Sasuke found himself at a loss. The amount of time that it was taking him to accomplish his mission was bothering him. Other shinobi would soon join the fight, and it would be highly unlikely that he could get away then. As the others fought valiantly against Sasuke, they were still no match for his speed, and as things began to take a turn for the worst, a new hope reigned in.

"KONOHA SENPUU!!"

Lee's amazing kick struck Sasuke's cheek, sending him straight into a tree. At last, here was someone who could match, if not surpass, Sasuke in speed.

As the other's gasped for air, Neji suddenly appeared with TenTen behind him.

"ANBU are on their way. As a priority, we had to evacuate the villagers for safe measure. When we saw the electricity shooting into the sky, Hokage-sama suspected that Orochimaru might be back," explained Neji.

"I WILL DEFEAT YOU WITH MY LOVE!!" screamed Lee, ripping a Sakura tree out of the ground and swinging at Sasuke to battle his chidori.

As the fight raged on, Sasuke began to realize that his goal was slipping. Being that reinforcements had joined and ANBU were now on their way, Sasuke took it upon himself to take his leave. Slicing at Lee with his sword, he forced Lee to look away just for a second, but long enough for Sasuke to make his escape.

"Let him go," said Neji, the only jounin of their group. "The battle is now pointless."

"Sakura-chan…." said Naruto holding her limp body in his arms.

_"MY LOVE!!" _shrieked Lee.

In desperation, Lee quickly picked up Sakura along with Naruto, and whisked both of them away to the hospital.

Over by a tree that had been blasted down, Chouji gently picked Ino out of the rubble and began making his way to the hospital after the others.

Shikamaru took deep breath and stood back to look at the destruction around them. He could not believe that after all this time one of their cherished comrades could do something like this, and he marveled at how easy it was for Sasuke to defeat them. In that short amount of time, Sasuke had grown to become a most fearsome enemy.

"Well," said Shikamaru scratching his head. "I expect Hokage-same will want a report…"


	2. Chapter 2

The doors of the infirmary burst open. Lee ran straight up to the front desk and began yelling at the receptionist. She was so startled that she fell out of her chair.

"MY BELOVED IS DYING!!" screamed Lee with tears streaming like waterfalls from his eyes.

"OI! LEE! PUT ME DOWN!!" yelled Naruto, still in Lee's arms.

Looking down, Naruto could see that he covered in blood from Sakura's wound. She was still unconcious.

A few nurses came rushing over with a gurney.

"Place her here!" said one of the nurses, helping Naruto place Sakura gently down.

As Naruto stood there covered in blood, he watched the nurses wheel her away.

"Sakura-chan..." whimpered Naruto, feeling helpless. Standing next to him was Lee, shaking.

"Don't worry, Lee," said Naruto reassuringly. "I don't think there'll be anymore surprises tonight..."

_BOOM!!_

The doors of the infirmary burst open again, sending Naruto and Lee jumping five feet in the air. It was Chouji.

Chouji had kicked the door open, in his arms was Ino.

Naruto and Lee quickly found another gurney and placing Ino upon it, wheeled her after Sakura. As the three of them wheeled her down the hall, a set of doors swung open to the operating room, and Naruto could see a glimpse of Sakura's kimono. The doctors had already begun to operate.

"Bring her in here!" said a nurse when she spotted them.

As a few more nurses came to help, they were shooed out of the room.

"What should we do now?" asked Naruto.

"I think we should tell their parents," said Chouji. "I'll call Ino's father, you can call Sakura's mom, and you..." continued Chouji, looking at the shaking Lee. "You...can just...wait here..."

* * *

Sakura could feel the light of the morning sun shining upon her as she slept. Opening her eyes, she saw on the clock hanging on the wall that it was seven in the morning. Moaning, she turned over to her left to see that there was someone sleeping in the next bed.

"Ino?" said Sakura as she had seen the long blonde hair on the pillow. Slowly sitting up, she saw that the other two beds across from theirs had people sleeping in them too.

Chouji was sleeping in the bed across from Ino's while Naruto slept across hers. Sakura looked out the window to see if there was any damage that she could make out from where she was, but nothing seemed differerent.

Taking her hand, she slipped it into her shirt to feel her shoulder.

_I was stabbed here... that much I remember_, Sakura thought.

Sakura sighed. On the chair next to her was her kimono. It had a gaping hole in it, but someone managed to wash the blood out. Suddenly Naruto stirred.

"Mmm?... Sakura-chan," said Naruto sleepily. "Are you okay?"

"Mmmm," said Sakura. "Everyone else alright?"

"Ino was knocked out by Sasuke," Naruto said, pointing over to Ino. "Other than that, everyone's okay except for a few scratches and bruises."

"If that's all then why are you and Chouji in the beds?" she asked.

"Oh, we were just watching over you two," Naruto blushed. "Your mom was here. The doctors gave her the okay to go home. I didn't tell her exactly what happened, only that there was an attack. I didn't mention that you were the target."

"Arigatou, Naruto. That would have really worried her after everything else that's happened."

"Ino's parents were here too. Her mother was pretty upset, but her father took one look at her and said 'she'll be okay' and shook Chouji's hand in thanks. I guess father's aren't as worriesome."

"So Chouji stayed?" said Sakura looking over to him sleeping. "How sweet!"

"Yeah, it was. He was really worried about her. He sort of twiddled his thumbs the whole time. I guess he was nervous," said Naruto. "As for fuzzy brows, he's was shaking because of the damage you took, he eventually settled down and went to sleep."

"Where is he?" said Sakura looking around.

Naruto pointed to the ground. Looking over the side of her bed, Sakura found that Lee was sleeping on a blanket laid out beside her bed.

"He's going to catch a cold that way," she said, looking at Lee who was curled up like a dog. "So, what's next?"

"I don't know...Shikamaru and the others went to report to Tsunade-obaachan last night. From what I've heard so far, Tsunade's thinking of the next move."

"So then it's definitely going to be something rather than us just sitting around in Konoha, huh?" said Sakura. "I wonder what she's going to make us do..."

"Well, either way, are you okay?" asked Naruto again, looking worried.

"Mmmm," said Sakura nodding. "I'm fine, but my kimono has a hole!!"

"Hehe, it never matters if we live or die, just as long as the dress is okay," said Ino, waking up. "Are you okay Sakura?"

"Yes, but are you? You took more of a hit than I did."

"Oh I'm fine, but how's the tree I hit?" asked Ino, laughing. "Well, I guess the festival was ruined...I didn't get mochi..."

The word "mochi" seemed to have struck a chord with Sakura too because she looked down incredibly sad.

"I will make some," said Chouji, straightening up. "It is a sin to attend the Sakura festival and not have any mochi to go home with!...atleast in my family it is..."

"Arigatou Chouji!" said Sakura and Ino in unison.

It seemed that the mentioning of food was all that was needed to brighten their spirits because before the hospital nurses even knew it, they had snuck out early to go and get breakfast. Dragging a half-asleep Lee, they made their way over to a restaurant near the hospital.

Sitting down, they breathed in the restaurant's early morning ambiance of cooking food and morning dew.

"Eight Teishoku! Onegaishimasu!!" yelled Chouji.

"Eight? But there's four of us..." said Sakura until her eyes fell upon Chouji's smile. "Oh..."

"So what do you think's going to happen this time?" asked Ino. "Do you think we'll have to fight?"

"It doesn't matter as long as I get to go this time," said Chouji. "I don't want to be left out like last time."

"Well, nothing's for certain yet," said Naruto. "I think we'll just have to wait to see what Tsunade-obaachan will decide."

When their food had arrived, the sight of a nicely broiled fish with sides of tsukemono, rice, and miso soup made them drool. There was nothing better than a light breakfast such as this in the morning. Their recent battle in the woods coupled with their long night in the hospital made them hungrier than usual. As they savoured their well balanced meal, they thought about the possibilites to come.

"Do you think I'll be able to go out on missions?" asked Sakura, thinking out loud.

"Tsunade might stick you in the hospital for the rest of your life. Atleast you have that to fall back on," said Ino as she picked up some rice.

Naruto was examining a piece of cabbage with his chopsticks. "Hmmm... you know...she might just make you go into hiding, but I doubt that is what you would agree to."

"Mmm..." agreed Sakura. "Well, if I know Shishou, it definitely won't be something we'd expect."

* * *

After breakfast they all decided that it was time to see Tsunade. She should have atleast worked up something by now. Heading over to the building marked with the large character for "Fire," they took their time going up the steps.

Even though the mission would probably have nothing to do with them, the others felt that they needed to support Sakura in this critical time. None of them, except for Naruto had ever been a target like this, and they couldn't imagine what Sakura must have been feeling. As Sakura walked first up the steps, the others stared at her back, worrying about her future even though she worried none for herself.

Approaching Tsunade's office, they could hear that she was in a rotten mood. She was yelling so loud that they could hear her through the door, word for word. Sakura was unchanged by it. It seemed that she had become used to her shishou screaming that way. Sakura knocked.

"COME IN!" screamed Tsunade.

Opening the door, Sakura waved to Tsunade as if to let her know that friend and not foe had just walked in.

"Ah! Sakura, come in," Tsunade said, waving to her. "I see you brought the rest of the village."

The others were scared of what Tsunade would do if they got close, so they sort of skirted the outer walls of the office.

"Shishou," said Sakura standing straight. "I've heard that you were planning something, may inquire as to what it is?"

Tsunade sighed and turned her chair around so that she faced the windows. As she looked out, her eyes scanned the horizon for an unseen enemy.

"Sakura-chan..." Tsunade began. "In truth, I was hoping that it would not have come to this, but it seems that it has, so there's no use fretting about it anymore."

Tsunade got off her chair and walked around her desk. Leaning against its front side, she grabbed the brim of the desk and looked down.

"Well, this whole time that you were back, I've been thinking of all the scenarios that I'd have to deal with. I wasn't expecting _this_ to happen. I have to admit that a rogue Sasuke is a lot more dangerous than a well thought out plan of Orochimaru's. There's no telling what Sasuke might do, as we've very well already seen last night. Unlike Orochimaru, he doesn't wait for an opportunity to strike..."

"So...what is it that you've come up with?" asked Sakura.

"To be honest, I don't know..." said Tsunade looking puzzled. "I thought that you being here in Konoha would deter an attack, but I see that's just not the case. The way I see it, you either go into hiding, stay where you are, or I relocate you somewhere. All of these options..." said Tsunade with a troubled look on her face. "...All of these options leave me with a sense of helplessness. I don't like sitting here waiting for something to happen. It just means that when the attack comes, we will be unprepared..."

"So, what do you suggest, Shishou?"

"The safety of the village is our ultimate priority, and I think that if you stay, Sasuke might do something even more drastic than just crash the Sakura Festival... I think it's best if you leave the village for now..."

With that, Tsunade looked at Sakura with sadness on her face. She didn't like putting Sakura in this position, but as Hokage, she had to think of the village's well-being and not just her student's.

What Tsunade said shocked Sakura. Being commanded to leave the village hurt a lot more than it sounded. Suddenly Sakura felt a bit abandoned, and you could see it on her face.

"NO!" yelled Naruto. "You can't send Sakura-chan out there! She needs to be here! Protected!!"

"I agree!!" chimed in Lee.

Tsunade sighed a loud sigh. "Look, I know that you don't like it and I don't either. Don't make the mistake of thinking that I don't care... BUT, the fact remains that if Sakura stays here, she will endanger the village. Now, we don't know what Sasuke will do next. Who knows? He could end up taking out the whole village just to get to her. He's bold, that much is certain. Personally, I don't have the luxury of making decisions based on my emotions, otherwise Sakura would be locked up in the infirmary's basement doing laundry. No..."

Tsunade walked to the window. "...I can't lay down my duties as Hokage just because I feel like it..."

Everyone stood there silently for a moment. They understood Tsunade's decision, and respected it.

"So what are you going to do with her?" said Naruto, looking over to Tsunade.

"Sakura, you will leave with an ANBU team. They will be taking you away to an undisclosed location, just to be safe..."

"...EVERYONE OUT!" yelled Tsunade suddenly. "Now."

As Sakura's friends closed the door behind her, Tsunade walked over to Sakura.

"I'm sorry Sakura...There's nothing else I can do at the moment. Until then, I will think of something. For now..." said Tsunade, looking into Sakura's eyes, "...the ANBU will be taking you to the coast. There I will have a boat ready to take you to Konoha's southern peninnsula. You will head out from the eastern shore because it's the closest and head south around the edge of Fire country. There's a small fishing village there. I've already sent a messenger to notify them that you're coming. You leave tonight so there isn't much time..."

"What am I supposed to do there!?" asked Sakura. She could just see it: fiddling her thumbs as she sat on a rock all day. Nothing but hot sun and turbulent ocean for company.

"They have a clinic there. I've asked the head of the center to employ you. I'm really not sure how long this is going to take, but I just have to keep you out of danger until we know what we can do. I'm sorry Sakura, but as we are now pressed on time, this is the best solution that I can come up with."

"Don't you think that's a bit...excessive?" asked Sakura.

"Not at all. It's either that or anything else is as good as me letting you wander off on your own. Which do you prefer?"

"I guess so..."

"Okay, so, pack, get ready, do what you need to do, and get going. The team will pick you up. The whole trip will be pointless if you're seen, so make haste."

Sakura nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh and Sakura..."

"Hai?"

"Take care."

"Mmm," nodded Sakura, trying to look reassuring. "Arigatou, Shishou..."


	3. Chapter 3

Walking down the steps of the Hokage's office, Sakura seemed to fall lazily with each step. When she neared the bottom, she saw the others looking up at her, waiting for the verdict.

"So what's going to happen?" asked Ino, the first to say what was on everyone's minds.

"I'm being sent away to the coast. Don't tell anyone else except those who were there last night. If they don't ask, don't tell, but I'm being sent to a fishing village on the southern peninnsula. I'm going to help out at a clinic there. What Tsunade's going to do in the meantime to settle this so that I can come back, I don't know. I'm being picked up by an ANBU team tonight and they're going to escort me to the eastern coast where I'll get on a boat to take me there. I honestly don't know when I'll be back..." said Sakura, looking down.

The group could feel her sorrow. Together they surrounded her and hugged her, and as they did so, tears began to stream from her eyes. The uncertainty of how long she would be gone was terrible. None of them had any idea what Tsunade could do to bring her back, and that's what made them worry.

In their hearts they all knew that there was nothing Tsunade could really do unless Sasuke was killed. That in itself was saddening, but not knowing when one would be back was even worse. There was a chance that she would never, and they knew that after a while people might even forget about her.

"Don't worry Sakura-chan," said Naruto. "We'll fix it..."

* * *

That night, Sakura sat on her bed in darkness to make it appear as if she were sleeping. She didn't know what time the ANBU were coming, so she just watched the stars from out of her window. Walking over to her dresser, Sakura pulled out a white night dress. Lifting it to her face, she took a deep breath. Putting it back down, Sakura teared. It no longer smelt like Itachi.

Going back over to the window, Sakura peered out into the street. She wondered what Itachi was doing at that moment, and then she began to wonder what he would do, if he would do anything, had he found out what happened. Taking a deep breath, the door of her room opened.

"Sakura?" said a woman's voice.

"Hai?" said Sakura, wiping away a tear.

"Are you alright? Did you see anything yet?"

"No," said Sakura, going to hug her mother. "I'll miss you, okaasan."

"I'll miss you too sweetheart. You be safe now. Don't write, I'll be fine. You just stay hidden," said Sakura's mother, stroking her daughter's hair. "Naruto is here. He wants to see you off."

Sakura nodded. "Arigatou, okaasan. You go to bed and get some rest. Everything will be fine. I'll just ask Naruto to stay up with me."

Sakura's mother gave a sad smile, kissed her on the cheek, and said goodnight. Soon after she left, Naruto came in.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura waved at Naruto.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Mmmm. I'm ready," answered Sakura. "Do you mind staying with me until they come?"

"Sure."

Naruto and Sakura sat on the bed, side by side. As they sat there together, Sakura took the opportunity to speak her mind to the only person she could while she still had the chance.

"Naruto..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think if Itachi found out that he would come for me?"

"Without a doubt."

"Really?"

"Sakura-chan, I don't think you remember correctly, but Itachi risked his life to save you and did everything in his power to protect you. Not many guys do that..."

"Then, why do you think he just left me?" asked Sakura.

At that moment, that last question was everything she was feeling, summed up into one question. _Why did he leave her if he cared so much?_

"Ano...This is what I think," said Naruto, turning towards Sakura to look at her with the most serious manner. "Why would Itachi not go after you? Why did he leave you?"

"Mmm," Sakura nodded.

"It's _because_ he cared about you so much. Itachi knew he couldn't return to Konoha! It's not like people would ever forget what he did, and for good reason. What happened with the Uchiha Clan is between the Uchihas. They're the only ones that know what really went wrong. Period. However, people are not likely to forget a crime such as his, let alone forgive him for it. Itachi did not want you to face that. AND, there was one other thing. Itachi did not want you to follow him."

Sakura looked down. "But why?..."

"BECAUSE!!" Naruto accidently yelled, and then went back to a soft tone. "...It's because he didn't want you to suffer. The things he does with Akatsuki, you may not agree with. He could not easily give up his membership and run off with you. You would have had to endure hard times if either you stayed with Akatsuki or even ran off with Itachi."

Naruto lifted Sakura's chin. "Sakura-chan... he knew that what you have in Konoha is a good life. You've got family and friends. He did not want you to give that up."

Sakura looked deep into her heart. So that's what it was. It wasn't that Itachi did not care, it was simply that he did. The sudden revelation caused Sakura to stop breathing, and she looked at Naruto in thanks.

"But...how did someone with your brain think of all of that?" asked Sakura, looking seriously puzzled.

"Sakura-chan...have some faith in me!...Though I did overhear Tsunade-obaachan talking to Shizune about it. Shizune didn't understand it either," said Naruto, sitting back.

"And you didn't tell me sooner!? I was heartbroken!"

"Tsunade caught me eavesdropping and pummelled me until I swore that I wouldn't say anything...she thought you'd have a harder time getting over it..."

"Uuuuggghh!!" cried Sakura. She couldn't believe the numbness of the situation, so she just sat back and waited.

* * *

The waiting went deep into the night. Sakura eventually fell asleep with her head upon Naruto's shoulder. Naruto just stayed there by her side, watching over her and looking out the window for any sign of ANBU's arrival.

As he sat there, Naruto began thinking about Sasuke, and he wondered how Sasuke could have been able to grow so cold over the years. It had not been that long since he left, so Naruto just couldn't understand how Sasuke became so cruel in such a short period of time. Perhaps Sasuke had truly dropped everyone just like he had said, but Naruto knew better.

Sasuke didn't just drop him without a fight. Naruto knew in his heart that during their battle, Sasuke was trying desperately to break his own heart. Sasuke could not have left with his heart still clinging to their friendship, so he did his best to cut the bond in order to enact his revenge upon Itachi. The battle was with himself, and not Naruto. Whether Sasuke succeeded, Naruto was not sure. He had seen a lot of things he would have never thought Sasuke would do, and hurting Sakura the way he did was one of them. Taking a deep sigh, Naruto rested his head upon Sakura's.

* * *

Another hour went by and there was no noise. However, when the clock struck two, Naruto looked out at the balcony to see that an ANBU member had silently appeared.

"Sakura-chan, they're here..." said Naruto softly, looking down at her giving a tiny shake.

Sakura opened her eyes and looked out the window. Slowly she got off the bed and stood up straight to shake the sleep off.

"Arigatou, Naruto...I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Sakura-chan. Take care."

With that, they hugged for a good moment, Sakura's arms around Naruto's neck and his arms around her waist. It was a goodbye filled with uncertainty of when they would see eachother again, so they remained hugging until they felt content.

"See you later, Naruto."

"Mmm...Later..."

As Sakura slid the glass door behind her closed, she looked back over her shoulder at Naruto so that he could see her lips whisper "goodbye." Even in the darkness, Naruto could see the suffering in her eyes. Unable to do anything, Naruto took a deep breath and watched them take off.

Naruto stood there alone in Sakura's dark room long after they had left. As he stayed there staring out the window, he clenched his fist. To be driven apart as a team made him angry. He did not know whether to be angry at Sasuke or himself for letting it happen. All he knew now was that he was left behind, and that Sakura was left to face her perils alone.

"So, Sakura...this was how you felt..."


	4. Chapter 4

As Sakura followed the ANBU to the northern gate, she looked out over the rooftops as they went. As she passed Ichiraku and the Yakiniku parlor, Sakura wished she could have stopped to view these places and take photographic memories before she left. As they moved into the distance, she looked onward to face her new challenge. Feeling the cold air as they flew over the houses, she made a silent wish for a quick return.

When they arrived at the gate, Sakura found four other ANBU members waiting for them. When they landed, no one said a word, and they simply surrounded Sakura in defensive positions before taking off out the gates.

How long they were going keep this pace, she did not know. She only knew that it took approximately three days to get to the northern border of Fire country, and being that the eastern coast was relatively the same distance away, she estimated it would take them just a little over three days. Clenching her fists, Sakura shoved the depressing thoughts out of her head to concentrate on the path that lay before her.

* * *

The night wore on, and eventually the group came to a halt when the sun first peaked its head above the horizon. Circling a tiny area, they laid down their packs to get some rest.

"One hour," said the leader.

Sakura leaned against the tree. The ANBU that had picked her up went and sat next to her, pulling out his water canteen to take a few gulps. As soon as Sakura had put her head back, sleep overwhelmed her and she was soon dozing off.

As the other ANBU took positions a bit away, they all seemed to be quite awake but resting. The ANBU positioned next to Sakura on the other hand, sat motionless. When he was sure that no one was looking he silently turned his head towards Sakura, and leaned forward to get a closer look at her face. The mask he wore showed nothing of his face except for his black hair protruding from the back, but his eyes were piercing her for some reason.

Sakura's head shifted, but he kept staring. What it was that he wanted was hard to tell. Nobody around them noticed anything, so the moment passed unseen.

* * *

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Sakura was beginning to think that they had managed to slip past Sasuke unnoticed. She did have one concern though, and that was if Sasuke would end up attacking Konoha while she was gone. When she ran the scenario through her head, she concluded that it just wouldn't be the case.

Sasuke would never attack unless he knew she was there at that moment. There was no sense in attacking and attracting attention without cause. So, Sakura felt a little bit comforted knowing that the chances of the village being attacked was very low, but that still didn't exclude him from attacking any one of her friends to find out where she had gone. That, greatly disturbed her.

After a while, the group could smell the ocean. Slowing to a walk, they looked ahead at the light shining through the trees. They were nearing the shore.

Stepping out of the forest they came upon a small beach. Parked a few yards offshore was a medium sized boat. It was nothing fancy, but Sakura could tell that she was sea-worthy. The wood of the boat creaked as it swayed to the tiny swells. Aboard the ship was a few men, who waved to them when they saw the ANBU masks of Konoha.

The group walked across the beach and to the edge of the shore. As the leader waved to the ship's crew, the ANBU who had watched Sakura before, looked to her again.

"Ready?" the ANBU asked her.

"Mmm..." Sakura nodded. Something was weird. This was the first time out of the whole trip that this particular ANBU had spoken to her, and she looked at him with a quizical brow, wondering where he was from.

The team walked out on the water to get to the boat. As they came aboard, the captain welcomed Sakura with a warm smile.

"So! This is going to be our new village nurse?" he said happily. "Welcome aboard!"

"Arigatou!" said Sakura back to the man. She now felt a little bit better about the whole ordeal. The warm welcome was very reassuring.

As the wind picked up the sail, Sakura went to the front of the boat. Peering over the edge, she felt a little bit happy with this semi-vacation.

"How long will it take to get there?" she asked the captain.

"I would expect two days with the wind on our side."

As the sun began to set on the horizon, that one ANBU member again watched Sakura as the firey light touched her hair. He remained staring at her from the back of the ship, and stayed there until the sun disappeared behind the earth's edge.

* * *

The next day passed with nothing but talking. The boat was a fishing vessel, so the crew went about their business, fishing to bring back the day's fare. Sakura did not talk to anyone, but remained at the bow of the boat for most of the trip. She rested her head upon her hands and watched the ocean sweep beneath them. In a way it was nice. Sakura could think about the others back home and what they were doing, instead of thinking only of Itachi and the emptiness in her heart. Sighing, she watched the water turn from blue to gold as the sun had set yet again.

Sakura placed her pack down. Lying down to place her head upon it, Sakura watched the stars. However, she wasn't left alone for long.

The ANBU who kept studying Sakura eventually made his way over to her. Sitting beside her, he began to talk with his eyes staring straight ahead.

"Tsunade-sama told me about you and Itachi..."

Sakura was quite shocked. No one except her friends and the people involved knew about the events that took place. The ANBU continued.

"...If I may ask, why did you choose Itachi?"

The question shocked Sakura even further.

"Why do you ask?" she said.

"It's because...I knew Itachi. What he did was unforgivable. The massacre of the Uchiha Clan is something that will never be forgotten, so what is it about him that made you trust him?"

Sakura closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was something she would have to face sooner or later. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the stars.

"I trusted Itachi...because I fell in love with him. I'm not sure what happened, but during our journey he changed. He protected me and followed me to wherever trouble took me...he never stopped... and it was his actions that told me he loved me too..."

Turning to the ANBU, she looked at him until he turned to face her.

"...that is why I trust him...I still do."

The ANBU's eyes were blank. He did not say anything else but simply got up and walked away. What he was thinking, Sakura didn't know and didn't care. She knew in her heart that what she had with Itachi was one of the most true things she had in this world, and that was all that mattered.

* * *

When it was past noon the next day, the crew began to jitter with excitement as they began to recognize the surrounding coastline. Sakura stood at the edge of the bow, searching the coast for the village.

Apparently they were still a long way off, and as the sun began to set yet again, Sakura finally spotted the village a while away. As she tried to distinguish the outlines of the village through the orange glow of the sun, the ANBU that watched her suddenly appeared by her side, looking out at the village as well.

"You know, even if you trust Itachi, that will never change his past wrong-doings," said the ANBU. "There will always be those who wish to avenge the clan."

The words sounded ominous. Sakura suddenly felt a chill up her spine. Slowly she turned to look at the ANBU. As she stared at the side of his face, her heart began to pound faster and faster. Slowly the ANBU turned his head to face her, and through the holes in his mask, Sakura could see the red tinge of the Sharingan staring back at her.


	5. Chapter 5

_FWAP!_

Suddenly a kunai had shot straight for the ANBU's mask, knocking it off. One of the ANBU at the back of the boat had seen Sakura's expression and immediately knew something was wrong. As the mask flew off, Sakura found herself looking at Sasuke. He had been with her since she left Naruto.

Sasuke's expression showed absolutely no surprise. He knew the kunai was coming, and now he was letting them see him.

_"He's here!"_ shouted the ANBU.

The others, now alerted to the situation, drew kunai and prepared to attack.

"There's no use..." said Sasuke, looking at them like they were nothing. "I'm going to kill you all."

The attack had begun. A barage of kunai were sent flying towards Sasuke. He dodged and left Sakura standing there to watch the bloodshed unfold. Drawing shuriken, Sakura took a stance to fight. However, the ANBU don't answer just to the Hokage for nothing. They were chosen for this task, and for good reason.

Before Sakura even blinked, two of the ANBU appeared before her in defensive mode. The other two ANBU were left to fight Sasuke.

These ANBU were specifically chosen for this position because of their abilities to use the water element. Tsunade had planned ahead and chose members who could use the element to give them every advantage that was possible considering their journey.

As Sasuke dodged the water attacks and constant strikes from the two ANBU, he began to realize what was happening. The two he was fighting were only focused on physical attacks to cut him down. Using hand signs for the attacks would give them the disadvantage by causing a delay, so they focused all their efforts on attacking him without break. Looking around to see who was controlling the water attacks, Sasuke saw that the two guarding Sakura had their hands in a concentrating pose. This was their plan to face the problem of Sasuke's incredible speed. Thinking as he fought them, he could not help but admire that Tsunade had thought this far.

This is where the Sharingan came in handy. Copying the juitsu, Sasuke used his speed as an advantage and sent water attacks to the two who were guarding Sakura. They were forced to release their juitsus as the three of them dodged to avoid it. At that moment when Sasuke got them to pull their punches, he took the opportunity to take out the two who were chasing him.

Drawing his sword, Sasuke pulsed the blade with electricity and swiped at a distance from them. The electricity caught hold of their metal kunai and in turn sent bolts through their bodies. As they fell, the flash from Sasuke's sword gleamed as he quickly cut the two on their way down. By the time Sakura and the other two had landed out on the water, they were looking at Sasuke and two dead bodies.

The ANBU with their backs to Sakura did not even flinch. Their abilitly to hold their composure in the face of having easily lost two comrades in a split second did not distract them from their task. Back on the ship, the crew cowered as Sasuke peered over the edge at Sakura.

"Sakura," said the ANBU on her right. "It is our turn to fight. The other two were better than we were, and that's a fact. We will buy you time to get to shore. The rest is up to you."

"Hai."

"Don't look back!"

At that moment, Sakura dashed for the shoreline. Sasuke immediately moved to catch her but instead found himself faced with the other two blocking his path. As they crouched with kunai in their hands, the stance they took was admirable in every aspect, and Sasuke smiled knowing that they had accepted their fates.

When Sakura reached the shore she wasted no time in dashing into the trees for cover. She moved as swiftly as she could and headed straight for several yards before cutting right.

_I can't go to the village,_ she thought. _He'll kill them all._

Soon she heard an explosion in the distance from where the boat was, and she didn't have to look back to know that the two ANBU were dead. She only hoped that the crew members were able to get away to send a message back to Konoha.

_I've got to keep running until I figure out what to do,_ she decided. _Shit, I don't even know the terrain...I'll just have to count on the fact that Sasuke doesn't either._

Leaping over some rocks, Sakura kept her pace as she went deeper into the forest. All the while she hoped that she had put enough distance between her and Sasuke so that he couldn't hear her footsteps.

_Why the hell did he wait this long to attack!?_ Sakura thought. Soon she bit her lip.

_Shit...he was isolating me..._


	6. Chapter 6

Naruto lay on the roof of his apartment, soaking up the sun's rays. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes to a perfectly clear blue sky.

"Uuuuunnn... Sakura-chan..." whined Naruto, frowning.

Since she had left, Naruto had doted on her absence every day. The first few days left him sad, but now it had turned to impatience. Rolling over to his side, Naruto deepened his frown.

As he lay there feeling like his heart was going to jump out of his chest, his attention was soon caught by two ANBU members rushing across the rooftops. Sitting up, Naruto watched as they made their way towards the Hokage's building_._

_Sakura-chan_...

Somehow Naruto just knew. The bad feeling that he got the moment he spotted them told him that there was trouble. Jumping to his feet, Naruto chased after them.

* * *

"Hokage-sama!" yelled the first ANBU, as he and the other one appeared in her office.

"What is it?" she yelled.

"We've found Mamoru's body outside the village grounds. His body had electrical scorch marks and was stabbed through the heart with a sword."

"Mamoru!?" screamed Tsunade. Turning around, she bit her thumb to think.

Naruto suddenly came bursting through the door.

"Tsunade-sama," said Naruto. "Why do I have a feeling there's something wrong with Sakura-chan?"

Tsunade turned around to face him. "Because there is."

Naruto gasped. He couldn't breathe.

"They found the body of one of the ANBU who was to escort Sakura to the coast," she explained. Turning to the ANBU she asked, "How long was he dead?"

"About six days, no less," said the ANBU.

"Shit, that means he was there since the pick-up."

"What did his mask look like?" asked Naruto.

"It was a dog's," said the second ANBU.

Naruto thought back. Suddenly his eyes widened.

"SHIT!! I GAVE HER TO HIM!!" Naruto screamed.

Naruto turned to dash out the door, but just as he twitched the office door flew open.

"TSUNADE-SAMA!!" screamed Shizune. "A message came from the village Sakura was sent to! They were attacked!!"

Gasping for air, Shizune put her hands on her knees and went on.

"A messenger bird just arrived. Their ship was attacked by someone disguised as ANBU. The crew managed to escape before the ship exploded. All ANBU are dead, but Sakura managed to escape into the forest. She has not turned up at the village, and the person who killed the ANBU was last seen entering the forest after her."

"Tsunade-sama..." said Naruto, looking to her for an answer.

Tsunade turned around to face back out the window. After a few moments she spoke.

"...Find Jiraiya..."

* * *

"Search outside of every bath house in this village!" screamed Naruto to the two ANBU and Shizune as they left Tsunade's office. "Check the bushes and in every corner surrounding the them! I'll check the training grounds, he likes to watch the swimmers there!"

A little daunted by the prospect of finding a man in heat, the ANBU and Shizune spread out their search.

As Naruto ran through the streets he kept screaming, "Ero-sennin!?" People were quite shocked that he was running around looking for an erotic hermit.

Shizune went to search the hot springs on the edge of the village. As she rounded the corner, she noticed that there was a few bushes in the corner between the bath house walls and the hill nearby. As she got closer, she could see the branches of the bush move against the wind when it shook, followed by a gleefully perverted noise.

"Mmmhmmhmmhmmm!!" came the voice from behind the bushes.

_Found him_, she thought.

"Jiraiya-sama!" she yelled at the bush.

Suddenly a scream went up in the bath house. The sound of his name was famous there, and when the women bathing caught wind of it, they immediately knew.

An elderly man came bursting out of the bath house's entrance wielding a stick.

"JIRAIYA!!" the man screamed. "STAY AWAY FROM MY CUSTOMERS!!"

Jiraiya, caught, jumped out from behind the bushes and took of, giving Shizune a nasty look as he went. He didn't get far however, as he ran directly into Tsunade_. _

_BUMP_!!

Tsunade knocked him on the top of his head with her knuckles, but this time she didn't use chakra to enhance its strength. Stunned, Jiraiya stopped in his tracks because Tsunade never pulled a punch on him before.

Grabbing him by the ear, Tsunade whipped him around like a kid and forced him to apologize to the owner. The owner in turn, gave him a good scolding.

Walking back to the office, Jiraiya rolled his eyes at Tsunade as they went.

"Geez, Tsunade. What is it this time?" asked Jiraiya, walking ahead lazily.

"I need to ask you a favor," Tsunade said.

"Well that's new. What is it that you want me to do?

Tsunade stopped in her tracks, the act itself making Jiraiya stop and turn around to face her with curiousity. He could tell by the look on her face that she was serious.

"You are aware of the situation surrounding Sakura right now, yes?"

"Mmmm," answered Jiraiya, nodding.

"A half hour ago, the ANBU found one of the members of the team that escorted her, dead. I just checked with the guards at the northern gate. They have confirmed that a complete group of five ANBU left with Sakura. Then, a message came in from the village she was sent to. The ship she was on was attacked by a man disguised as ANBU. One guess as to who that was..."

Jiraiya became serious. "Does Naruto know?"

"Yes."

"So what is it that you want me to do?"

"Sasuke has proven to be a difficult adversary. He's killed the other four ANBU that were with her at the time. There is only one person I can think of right now, able to match his speed and surpass him in skill..."

"So, you want me to find Itachi, is that it?"

Tsunade nodded. "You are the only person who would know where he is currently located."

Jiraiya shook his head. "The last place that I had confirmed his location was in Water Country, two weeks ago. He could be long gone by now...However, I do know where Deidara is..."

Soon Naruto had joined the group. In one of those rare moments, he did not speak, but merely listened.

"Right, send Deidara the message then," said Tsunade. "Hopefully he will be willing to pass the message on. It's better than searching aimlessly."

Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Naruto then followed Shizune to the building that housed the messenger birds.

"Ero-sennin?" said Naruto.

"Mmm?"

"How long do you think it will take for the message to reach Itachi?"

"Well, Deidara is about half a day's journey from where we are. It all depends on Itachi though."

When they had finally sent the message, Naruto jumped onto the roof to watch the bird fly out of his sight. When it had disappeared. Naruto sat down, wrapped his arms around his legs, and stared in the bird's direction. Looking at him from below was Jiraiya.

"Nee, Tsunade," said Jiraiya, leaning against the window and crossing his arms. "What's your next step?"

Sighing a big sigh, Tsunade just shook her head.

"That difficult, huh?" he mused.

"It's hard to figure out where to start," began Tsunade. "It's not like I can just send a team to intercept her. By the time they reach the area, Sakura would be out of the penninsula, expanding our search area by _atleast_ twofold. I am thinking of sending a team, but I will need to know where Itachi is first so that we can collaborate, as well as give me an idea of how to approach this. Once the team's out, I won't be able to coordinate the two as easily."

"Mmmm," said Jiraiya, nodding in agreement. "But...have you even considered that Itachi may not even come?"

"He'll come."

"Are you so sure?"

"One hundred percent sure...He is in love with Sakura, without a doubt. He will follow her to the ends of the earth, if need be."

Jiraiya looked at her with a bit of doubt.

"He'll come!" shouted Naruto from above. He had been listening the whole time.

Jiraiya could say nothing more. He could argue with Tsunade or Naruto, but not both.

"Tsunade-sama," said Shizune. "You need to be back at the office handling the reports."

"It's fine..." said Tsunade in a harsh tone.

When Shizune heard that tone, she knew there was no bargaining. Doing so could mean death.

* * *

Two hours had gone by and there was still no sign of the bird. By that time, word had gotten out that Tsunade was gathered with the other three at the messenger birdhouse, waiting. The combination of the four in one spot was definitely suspicious, and soon enough, people started showing up, asking what was going on.

First, Iruka-sensei came barging in. When he heard that Naruto was with Tsunade and Jiraiya, he knew it was something bad.

"Iruka-sensei, don't worry, it will be fine," reassured Naruto after pulling him aside. "Sakura will be fine."

Iruka-sensei could not fathom the loss of one of his former students. It was a bit much for him to take, seeing as Sakura was also Naruto's teammate.

Knowing that he could not do anything, Iruka-sensei nodded, and walked back down the steps and out the building. Just as he was leaving however, Kakashi was walking by. The look on Iruka-sensei's face immediately struck a chord. Kakashi knew that Iruka only got that way when it had to do with his former students. Being that he was already on his way to see Naruto with the rest, Kakashi became even more worried.

"Ano...Is there something I should know?" said Kakashi as he walked in.

"Ah, Kakashi!" said Tsunade. "Stay! I might have to send you out for this."

After listening to the story, Kakashi took a deep breath.

"So..." said Kakashi. "Here we go again..."

Kakashi did not wear his normal expression of reserved calculation. Instead, he had a completely serious look upon his face. He knew that Sakura was in desperate trouble if she was caught between the Uchiha brothers. Looking out the window, Kakashi went silent. He stayed there, unmoved, and tried to imagine what Sakura was doing at that moment.

Kakashi's heart wrenched as it reached out to Sakura.

_Run... _his thoughts shouted to her. _Run..._

* * *

As time passed, the now five of them watched the clock pass their third hour of waiting. People were still filtering in now and again to ask questions, and soon Tsunade took to shouting at any noise of footsteps coming from outside the door. Suddenly, Naruto yelled.

"It's back!!"

As the bird came in for a landing, Tsunade wasted no time in extracting the message attached to its leg.

"How did you get Deidara to accept Konoha's messenger bird?" asked Kakashi.

"We attached Shizune's bra to its leg," said Jiraiya. "We would have used Tsunade's, but she needed the support and the sheer size of the bra would have slowed the bird down."

Tsunade gave a nasty look, but not one as nasty as Shizune's. The indication that her breasts were small made her burn holes through Jiraiya with her eyes.

"Well, there's one effective way to do it," said Kakashi, trying his best not to laugh.

As Tsunade rolled out the message, she slammed her fist down on the table and grinned.

"What is it!?" shouted Naruto desperately.

The others shuffled around Tsunade to look over her shoulder. As they focused their eyes, they could see that the message read:

_"Itachi is already approaching Sakura. I'll tell him where to narrow his search... _

_...Don't think you're the only one who's got spies..._

_- Deidara :) "_


	7. Chapter 7

Sakura was breathing hard. She had been running for atleast five hours. Now, it was well into the night and it had begun to drizzle rain.

_Don't rain!_ thought Sakura. _If it begins to puddle, I'm going to be making much more noise than I should be._

Sakura at this point was practically incoherent. The nonstop running had brought her to the brink of insanity. She did not want to stop for fear of being caught. Deciding that the best alternative was to return to Konoha, Sakura cut north until she reached the inner coast of the penninsula and was using it as a guide to get herself back.

The drizzling slowly dampened her hair, her arms were wet and cold. Sneezing, Sakura sucked it up and trudged on.

Continuing for about another half hour, Sakura had finally reached her breaking point. Stopping in the middle of the forest, she put her hands on her knees and gasped for air. The long distance running combined with her semi-sprint left her nauseas. Sakura placed her hand on a tree as she hunched over and nearly vomited.

Suddenly she stopped. Slowing her breath almost to complete silence, she found that there wasn't any noise coming from behind her. She could feel someone's presence.

Stepping backward, Sakura clenched her fists ready to attack. However, nothing happened.

As she stood there silently waiting, the threat of someone's presence was nevertheless, still there, and though it creeped her out, she did not lose her cool.

Slowly turning her feet to continue on, Sakura's eyes were narrowed and focused in the direction that she had come. That's when she realized that there was someone bringing up the rear, and fast.

Sakura began to sprint as fast as she could. She knew in her heart without a single doubt, it was Sasuke.

As she sprinted through the trees, she did her best to keep quiet. However, she knew that once he got any closer, he'd know exactly where she was.

Sakura was still winded from the previous run, and it only took five minutes for her to realize that she was slowing down.

_Shit,_ she thought._ My only option is to turn and fight._

As she was right about to do so, a hand reached out from behind a tree as she passed and slapped itself hard on her mouth, followed by the other hand wrapping around her stomach to pull her in.

Falling backward, Sakura was pulled down into someone's lap. As she grabbed at the hand over her face, she noticed that it had a ring.

"Don't move..." whispered a voice beside her ear. "...I can't fight him and protect you at the same time."

Stopping, she realized that Sasuke would have done much more than just silence her. As Sakura's eyes made their way down, she saw something that made her heart stop.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that the coat the person was wearing was black with a bit of red on one spot. Sakura tilted her head so that she could get a better look. Moving her leg so that she could see what was on the jacket, she found that it was a red cloud.

Sakura stopped breathing. Feeling the hand that was held over her mouth, she began to recognize the contours of it. It was Itachi.

Softening her posture, Sakura shut her eyes_._

_Saved_...she thought.

Relaxing, Sakura entrusted herself to him. Just as she did so, she heard footsteps.

Itachi turned his head slightly to peer around the tree. He could see that Sasuke had stopped a short distance away from them.

Sasuke waited there, listening to the trees around him. He had been reading the wind and could no longer tell which way Sakura had went, due to the fact that the wind was now rushing through the trees undisturbed by her movements. Sasuke closed his eyes. He could smell the remnance of her shampooed hair. Opening his eyes, he took off again, passing Itachi and Sakura by a few yards.

After a minute, Itachi released his hand from Sakura's mouth. However, Sakura did not get up.

Being too nervous, Sakura did not want to turn and face the person that she had missed for so long. She was too scared. Itachi, realizing that her breathing had changed, knew what it was that bothered her. Looking back and forth, Itachi decided it was time to move.

"Get up," he said.

Sakura's heart dropped. The coldness in his voice shocked her. Getting to her feet, Sakura still did not look at him as he stood up.

Itachi grabbed her wrist and began pulling her back towards the south side of the penninsula. Not once did he look back at her.

Suddenly Sakura felt so foolish. She could not believe how cold he was, and realized what a waste it was for her to have brooded over his absence. After all that had happened between them, this is what their relationship was reduced to.

_He didn't even ask if I was okay..._she thought, staring at the ground as they went.

Sakura was trying really hard not to drag, but her depression took over her stream of conciousness. Itachi began to notice.

Giving a tug, Itachi woke her back to reality. What it also did though, was bring Sakura to the realization that perhaps this is not the best time to be sulking. So, trying her best to leave those thoughts for another time, she stared at Itachi's back as they made their way to the opposite coast.


	8. Chapter 8

An hour had passed since Itachi took Sakura's hand. The whole time that they walked, he never turned around nor did his grip soften. Sakura's wrist hurt and the blood circulation was being cut off, but she did not say a thing. Staring at Itachi's back, she felt so small and insignificant. With every step that they took, her heart clenched tighter and tighter. Every now and then, a tear would leak from the corner of her eye, to which she would quickly regain herself and let the wind dry it off.

Soon she could smell the ocean breeze again. Coming into a clearing, the trees began to thin out until they had reached the shore. Itachi found somes boulders to sit on, and there he let her hand go by one and walked away to sit on another.

Sakura's heart dropped. Her breathing became short as she began to drift deeper into confusion. What happened to the Itachi she once knew, she did not know. The person who sat before her was cold and distant.

As she sat there, she stared over at Itachi who sat with a leg up on another rock, his arm resting on his knee. He was looking out at the ocean with a very angry look on his face. Sakura swallowed hard and worked up the courage to say something. Now would be the only chance that she could.

"...Itachi..." said Sakura softly.

He turned his eyes to her. The look he gave her was so cold and angry that it shot an arrow straight through her heart.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Itachi looked back at the sea.

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. He acted as if she was just a nuisance to him.

"Why are you acting this way?" she said, slowly regaining her composure. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Our spies caught wind of a renegade Sasuke. It is still Akatsuki's priority to keep Orochimaru from advancing."

"But you know that there's nothing I can do for Orochimaru, so if there is no reason to keep me from the enemy, then why come for..."

_"Urusai,"_ said Itachi, looking at her as if he were going to kill her.

Sakura was flabberghasted. She was so pissed off that chakra began glowing in her hands that were now balled into fists. Finally catching what she was doing, she shook it off.

"What?" said Itachi, looking her dead in the eye. "You thought I came for just you?"

Sakura stopped breathing. Clenching her fists again, this time she lost her cool.

Dashing forward, Sakura punched at Itachi only to miss, shattering the boulder he was on into thousands of pieces so that it rained rock and rubble. Turning to face him, her eyes were of green fire as it flashed with anger and rage. Lunging at Itachi again, Sakura punched the air as Itachi disappeared and reappeared beside her.

Grabbing her wrist, Itachi twisted it and threw her into the sand causing her to skid several feet. Sakura was so stunned that she laid there for a moment.

Itachi walked over to her and kicked sand at her.

"Pitiful..." he said in a monotone voice. "What naivety..."

Itachi kicked sand at her again. "I got you away from Sasuke...now get lost..."

Itachi stood over her as she propped herself to her knees. His cruel words shocked Sakura. Looking at the ground, she was so stunned that she did not cry. It was as if she did not believe it was reality. For a brief second, Sakura questioned whether it was genjuitsu.

_No..._she thought. _It's not..._

Sakura gave up. She had never been more embarassed nor felt more foolish in all her life. Getting to her feet, she stood up straight. Pausing for a moment, she did not turn to look at Itachi but instead looked straight ahead and began to walk away.

Silent tears began to stream down from Sakura's eyes. It was the longest walk of her life. The tears that flowed heavily and silently slipped down her cheeks before dropping to the sand. Walking down the beach, she could feel Itachi's presence still lingering where she had left him. It hurt to know that he was watching her back as she made her way across the sand, broken and rejected. She could feel her heart breaking with each step, and the embarassment of what just happened had stained her heart forever. Unclenching her fists, it was as if she were releasing all of the memories that she had left of him.

_It's over now..._she thought, her heart sinking still further. _Let it go..._

Not looking back, Sakura told herself that enough was enough.

* * *

As Sakura reached the end of the beach where the sand turned to rock, she was happy to know that Itachi's view of her would soon be blocked by a group of jagged rocks that cut close to the water's edge. A few more steps, and she would be out of Itachi's sight forever.

However, as Sakura came closer to the rocks and the sound of waves drowned out everything else, she was not expecting that there was one last surprise left in store for her.

Out from behind the rocks came a hand that slapped itself over her mouth, followed by the other hand that wrapped around her waist and pulled her in. As Sakura struggled to get free, she turned to see who it was who grabbed her.

_"Kisame!?" _she whispered.

_"Shhh!" _he hissed at her. Grinning, Kisame put his hand on Sakura's head and turned it to peek through a slit in the rocks. Through it she could see back to where Itachi was still standing across the beach, waiting...


	9. Chapter 9

_"What the hell is going on!?"_ Sakura scream-whispered at Kisame.

"You mean, you didn't get it?" said Kisame, shaking his head.

_"..."_

"Wait, you didn't know?"

"..."

Rolling his eyes, Kisame put his head over hers to look through the crack with her.

"Honestly, what are they teaching you kids over in Konoha?" he said down to her. "Count five trees towards us, starting from Itachi."

Sakura was impatient and aggitated from what happened with Itachi. Still, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and began to count.

"Ok, so what?"

Kisame knocked his fist on her head.

"Ow!"

"Concentrate, Baka!" he hissed.

Sakura looked back again and sighed with frustration. She didn't know what the hell she was doing still hanging around. However, as she focused, her eyes caught a hold of something.

The tree that Kisame had told her to look for did not sway with the wind the way the others did. Sakura brought her face closer to the rocks and squinted.

_gasp!_

"Yupp, do you see it?" said Kisame, grinning again. "It's Sasuke..."

Sakura was dumbfounded.

"So stop your tears little girly, Itachi didn't mean it."

Sakura was silent and her eyes looked as if they were going to start crying again.

"We didn't come all this way for nothing. As soon as we heard that Sasuke had run off towards Konoha, Itachi did not waste time in heading in the same direction. Unfortunately, we were coming from much further than Sasuke, and by the time we had reached Konoha, you were just setting sail off the coast...We got lucky though. Jiraiya managed to send a message to Deidara who in turn helped us focus our search.

"Were you watching what just happened?" asked Sakura.

"Mmmm. I was to follow the southern coast while Itachi took the north. He had a feeling you would follow either one to make your way back. Our meeting point was further up the beach, but I guess that Itachi took you here so that I would catch wind of it and prepare for making the grab."

"So...it was all just an act?" said Sakura, looking down.

Kisame nodded. "Itachi had never been more aggitated in all the years that I've been partnered with him since he left you back in Konoha. Still, I guess he thought that maybe if he treated you that way in front of Sasuke, Sasuke might leave you alone. Now, whether Itachi did it to also make you forget about him, I can't tell you."

Sakura's heart dropped again. It was like being brought back to life only to be stabbed.

"Now, enough of the mush," said Kisame, putting his hands on his knees. "Let's see what happens."

Peeking back through the crack, Sakura could see that Itachi remained unmoved. Holding her hair back, Sakura watched nervously to see what was going to happen.

* * *

Itachi faced the ocean with an angry look on his face. He knew that Sasuke was still there, watching.

Feeling the air around him, Itachi could tell that this time things were different. The fact that Sasuke did not blatantly attack means that he had become much more cautious. This meant that now Itachi was going to be fighting a calm and cool Sasuke, unlike the other times where rage enveloped his thinking. This time was going to tough, and as Itachi waited there to see Sasuke's next move, Sasuke spoke.

"So...Itachi..." came Sasuke's voice from the tree. "Picking on girls now, I see."

Itachi remained silent. He was preparing for Sasukes strike. Closing his eyes, Itachi was feeling for the attack.

"What a cruel thing to do to someone you don't love..." said Sasuke, coming out from the shadows of the tree. "Then, I guess you don't mind if she dies."

With that, Sasuke disappeared into puff of smoke.

_A copy..._thought Itachi, startled out of his concentration. Looking down the beach, he could see that the real Sasuke was already a hundred yards ahead of him, running straight for the rocks where Sakura and Kisame were hiding.

Itachi took off down the beach after Sasuke. Chasing after his back, Itachi was for a brief moment, actually scared.

_I'm not going to beat him..._ thought Itachi as he ran. Considering the distance, there was no way he could catch up in time. Gritting his teeth, only now had he fully begun to realize Sasuke's original plan.

Sasuke knew. He knew from the very start that it was an act. Even without the sharingan, he could tell that Itachi's breathing was unsteady the whole time he was torturing Sakura. Before they had even reached the beach, Sasuke had even already known that Itachi was well aware of his presence following them. Realizing this, Itachi figured out that this moment wasn't for Sasuke to have an opportunity to kill him, it was to make Itachi suffer by forcing him to watch Sakura being murdered in front of his eyes.

Across the beach, Kisame could see that the situation had just turned ugly.

"Whoops, gotta go," said Kisame, suddenly grabbing Sakura around the waist with one arm and picking her up to make a dash for the ocean.

Sakura saw the world shaking around her. With her hands grasping Kisame's arm, she could just barely make out Sasuke's image coming straight for her. However, just as Sasuke's feet had hit the stone surface drawing his sword, Kisame leaped off the small cliff into the ocean, slamming their bodies into the waves below.

As the water swirled around Sakura upon impact, she felt her body pull with great speed further out into the ocean. Opening her eyes, it were as if she was being dragged by a rope attached to a boat. Holding her breath, Sakura could do nothing else but trust Kisame.

On the surface, Sasuke ran towards the edge of the cliff and jumped off to begin running on the water. However, as soon as he had touched the water, a giant swell grew in front of him. Sprinting up the wall of the wave, Sasuke managed to clear the peak and land on the other side before being caught. Turning around, he saw that the wave smashed the shore with amazing strength, breaking the jagged rocks that Sakura was hiding behind. Turning out towards the sea, he could see the disturbance in the water that showed which direction Sakura and Kisame had went.

Suddenly, several more swells grew and Sasuke was busy dodging them again. This time, however, it wasn't an attack, but rather a tactic to make Sasuke lose them. Leaping high into the sky, Sasuke looked to the water to find their shadows, but none could be found. Looking back at the beach, Sasuke discovered that Itachi was gone.

As the swells subsided, Sasuke found that he was standing in the middle of the water, alone. Sheathing his sword, he knew that he wasn't going to find them.


	10. Chapter 10

Deep at the bottom of the ocean, about a mile out, everything was dark and silent. Opening her eyes, Sakura found that she had been laid on the ground. Pushing herself up, Sakura could barely see a thing. The ground she was lying on was made of water, but she couldn't understand how she could be balancing on water without using chakra to hold her there. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her little medical flashlight. Switching it on, she saw that she was in a bubble.

"You wanna be spotted?" said Kisame, standing behind her with his hand on the wall of the bubble.

Switching it off, Sakura turned around to face him in the dark.

"What are we doing now?" asked Sakura.

"We are waiting for Itachi. My copy is bringing him here."

Sakura felt nervous. After that whole display, she was now insecure about how Itachi would handle it next. Taking her hand, Sakura reached out and felt the wall.

_Amazing..._ she thought. _He must be using chakra to hold the water out instead of in. I can't even tell a difference in the pressure we're in._

"Kisame, you'd make a great medical ninja," she said in the dark.

"Hmph, my job is to damage things, not fix them."

They stayed there in the dark for about ten minutes in silence. Soon though, Sakura could hear the wall of the bubble slurping. The other bubble had arrived and was connecting to theirs. Sakura couldn't tell what was going on, but she stepped back from where she heard the noise.

"Itachi," said Kisame suddenly. "I'll go check the surface."

Sakura held her breath as she heard Kisame's copy swimming away.

_He's here_, she thought, tensing up.

Sakura wasn't sure if Itachi could see her, or if he even knew she was there. What's worse, she hated to think what the copy was saying to him on the way here. Biting her lip, Sakura waited in the dark for a word from above.

A minute had passed and nothing happened. No one said a thing, but she could feel Itachi's presence standing between her and Kisame. Soon however, she was startled.

Sakura could feel someone coming closer to her. They stopped just short of a foot from her. She then felt arms slowly wrap around her, and pull her in for an embrace.

_"Komen..."_ said a whisper by her ear.

Sakura felt so sad and yet so relieved. wrapping her arms around him, she squeezed tightly. Tears began to pour as she dug her face into him. She tried hard to stiffle her sobs, but she failed to hold them down.

As Itachi's hand caressed her head, he put his head on hers to try and ease her pain. This made Sakura squeeze harder. She never wanted to let go.

"He's back," said Kisame. "It's clear to move."

Itachi and Sakura released eachother, but Itachi grabbed her hand and held it. Turning back to Kisame, Itachi dealt a plan.

"Let's move further down the coast and cut back. Dawn is approaching. We should use the opportunity to get back into the forest under the cover of dark. How much longer can you hold up?" asked Itachi.

"Mmmmm, about an hour, but I think a half hour should be good."

"Ok, let's move," said Itachi, knowing that he had to break his verbal restrains because Kisame couldn't see him nodding in the dark.

"Mmm, don't move," said Kisame. With that, the bubble began to rise towards the surface of the water and stopped short five feet below so that it was enough to keep them hidden, but allow Kisame to see the area around them. Kisame moved his hand around the bubble to face the opposite direction of where they wanted to go. Concentrating his chakra, he created a slight whirlwind action to propel them away.

It was the most amazing thing that Sakura had ever seen. Never had she seen someone with such control over the water element, and marveled at Kisame, understanding now what had earned him a place in Akatsuki. The things he could do with his chakra was pure genius.

As the bubble sped through the water, Itachi stood behind Sakura so that he held her up during the ride. He also did it so that he could have her pressed up against him with his arms around her. Wrapping her arms around his, Sakura held him tightly so that she knew she wasn't going to be let go. Her breath scattering as she breathed in and out, Sakura's heart finally began to calm down. Turning her head to lean back into his chest, Sakura shut her eyes and sighed a heavy sigh.

* * *

The surface of the ocean was calm in a little indent in the land. The appearance of the bubble soon began to rise above the surface of the water, and barely made a noise as it did so. As the top of the bubble began to open and flow down the sides, Sakura, Kisame, and Itachi stood there in the dark of the tiny bay and began to walk to shore. None of them said a word. As they approached the sand, they looked cautiously from side to side. Something in their gut told them that something wasn't right. However, nothing stopped them as they made their way up the sand and into the tree line.

"Did you feel that?" asked Kisame to Itachi.

Itachi nodded, looking cautiously through the trees as they walked.

Sakura could feel it too. It was one of the strongest killing intents that she had ever felt. Somehow though, she knew it wasn't Sasuke. Whoever it was hiding in the trees, Sakura secretly knew that the person it was after, was her.

"Sakura," said Itachi. "Stand between us."

As they continued walking the feeling eventually vanished, but all of them knew that it would be back and that the next time, its purpose would be made clear.

Where they were heading, Sakura wasn't sure. They had now been walking for about an hour and the sun was beginning to peak its head over the horizon, casting a light glow through the trees. It was chilly and she was still a bit wet. Sneezing, Sakura blinked tears as her nose became stuffed.

"We're almost there," said Itachi, holding her hand.

Sakura was thankful that Itachi had held her hand the whole way. He could sense that the incident had shaken her, and that she needed comfort after being traumatized.

The further they walked the thicker the woods got. Sakura felt that they had slowy turned east and were now heading back to Konoha. Soon the trees became so thick that it almost seemed night again. Coming into a small clearing, she almost walked into Itachi's back as he and Kisame had suddenly stopped.

Placing his hands together, Kisame said, "Kai!"

Soon the area they were standing in began to swirl in image. There was a juitsu place on that spot, and soon Sakura found herself standing in front of a giant two-story house.

Akatsuki was nomadic in their nature, and Sakura could see that they needed quite a few locations to house themselves as they journeyed. The fact that there was one so close made her wonder how many more there were strategically placed across the land. As Kisame slid the door open, the smell of a hearth could be smelt as it breezed outward.

Leaving her shoes near the front door, Sakura went in to find that the hearth was kept clean with a pot that hung over it attached to the ceiling. With a short blow of chakra, Itachi had lit the fire to a nice blaze.

"There's rooms upstairs," said Kisame to Sakura. "You might want to change out of those wet clothes."

Walking slowly up the stairs, Sakura looked behind her to see that Itachi sat by the fire, watching her with his periphial vision. She wondered if he'd follow her.

Sliding open one of the doors to the rooms, Sakura found a bed and a desk, very uniform to the first hideout that she was taken to. There were no clothes, so Sakura figured that she'd have to use the sheet.

As she peeled the wet clothing off her body, she got goosebumps from the chilled air touching her bare skin. Rubbing her arms, Sakura tried to warm herself. Pulling the sheet off the bed, she wrapped herself from her chest down so that it was tight about her, revealing nothing but her arms and shoulders. Sliding the door back open, she walked back down the hall with her wet clothes in hand and began to descend the stairs.

Just as Sakura got midway, she passed Kisame who was walking up. As he passed she could see a smirk on his face and mischeavous gleam in his eye, and sure enough, just as she passed he turned to grab a hold of the blanket to rip it off.

Sakura was too quick. Leaping off the stairs, she twisted mid-air so that she landed facing him at the bottom.

"Hehe, just kidding," said Kisame, turning to continue up the stairs. "Just keeping you on your toes."

Sakura smirked. She knew he was joking, but whether or not he would have really pulled the sheet off of her remained unclear. Walking over to the hearth, Sakura sat down on one of the floor mats and began hanging her wet clothes on a little railing that surrounded it. When she was finished, she sighed deeply and looked over to Itachi.

Itachi sat facing deeply into the fire. He had not looked at her since she came back out. Prodding the fire with a stick, Itachi took out a rice ball and tossed it to her. Unwrapping the rice ball, Sakura stayed by the fire getting warm. After she had finished, she felt sleepy and leaned herself against a post.

The warmth of the fire was comforting and soon her skin and feet no longer felt cold. As her eyes blinked more frequently, her head slumped downward as she nodded off to sleep. Itachi walked up the stairs and soon returned with sheets and pillows in his arms. Laying them down by the fire, he made a bed spread for two.

Sakura kept picking herself back up every time she slipped off the post. Soon however, she didn't notice that she was sliding sideways, and just as she slipped off the post, Itachi had caught her. Lifting her in his arms, he picked her up and carried her over to the bed he had made.

As Itachi laid her down, he was careful to make sure that he didn't pull her hair. Standing up, he took off his coat and hung it on the stairs' railing. Pulling off his shirt, he hung it alongside his coat before adding his netted undershirt to the ranks. Reaching up, Itachi untied his headband. As he brought it back down, he stared at the mark of Konoha, crossed off. It was the first time that Itachi ever thought about what it would be like to go back. Knowing that he couldn't, he placed the headband alongside his belongings and made his way back to Sakura.

Slipping his legs beneath the sheets, Itachi hovered over Sakura for a moment. Untying her headband, he placed it above her pillow before brushing the remnants of her hair out of her face. Lying down, he wrapped his arm around her and tucked her in. Sakura moaned in her sleep as she unconciously snuggled up against him, curling her arms in so that she could get as close as possible.

Itachi lay there stroking her back. As he stared at her face, his face was blank but his eyes showed just how much he missed her. He had thought about her every day since he left her, and regretted every day that he had not taken her with him. He knew though, that it would not have worked. There was too much happiness left for her in Konoha that leaving to be by his side would have been a step down. He could not have done that to her, but those many nights he spent wandering with Kisame were his lonliest. He had never once felt that way since he left Konoha, and this was the only time that he had ever ventured to look back.

Taking her hand in his, he pressed it to his face and closed his eyes. Thoughts swirled in his head. Thoughts of love and belonging, things that he had never had thought of before. Questioning whether he would choose this life over Akatsuki, Itachi opened his eyes to find Sakura staring back at him.

As their eyes met, Itachi's heart beat faster and his breathing became quicker. This was the first time in a long time that he had been in such close proximity to her.

"Missed you," said Sakura, softly.

Itachi dug an arm under her and pulled her onto his chest for a hug. As Sakura lay there, her hands ran down the contours of his chest. Taking a deep breath, Sakura was happy to know that her memory still found it familiar. Itachi took a bigger breath, causing Sakura to rise and fall as he did so. Squeezing her tightly, he brought his head to hers and rolled over.

As Itachi lay hovering just inches above her, he traced the curves of her face with his eyes, and brushing his nose against hers, brought his lips down for a kiss. As his hair fell upon Sakura, she closed her eyes to feel his embrace. Nothing but the soft crackel of the fire and the sound of the sheets moving about them could be heard.

The taste of her was so familiar to him. The texture of her lips, so soft and gentle, seemed to wash upon him like a warm breeze. The smell of her was intoxicating, and when he felt her arms wrap around him, his hand moved down the side of her body so that he could feel her body flex to match his shape. His hand shook as he brought it back up to grab the sheet that covered her, grasping it firmly before pulling it down to her waist. Taking that same hand, he followed her arm until his fingers entwined with hers, pinning it beside her head. Pulling back, Itachi looked into her eyes until his own had softened. His lips shuddered, but no words came out. As he stared at her intently, he mustered the courage to say what he had felt for her desperately all along.

_"I love you...Sakura..."_


	11. Chapter 11

The sound of a few crackels from the fire could still be heard the next morning. Sakura rolled over to her side, pulling the blanket as she went. Itachi peeked open his eyes to see that he was no longer covered, and grabbing the blanket, pulled it back over him along with her with it.

Putting his arm under her head, he took her arm and wrapped it around his waist so that he could pull her in close. Her hair was a mess that covered her face, and the look of it made him happy although he did not smile. Brushing his long hair out of the way, he then proceeded to brush hers away as well.

Sakura could feel him next to her, and without opening her eyes, she rubbed her leg up between his and stuffed her face into his chest. With the arm that he had thrown over her, she hugged him in so tightly that it made him arch his back uncomfortably. Realizing that she couldn't keep him that way, she released her grip so that he could relax.

The chilled morning air coupled with their body heat made for a most pleasant atmosphere. As they lay entangled with the sheets, Itachi secretly wished that he could stay there on the floor with her forever. Staring down at her sleepy face, Itachi took a mental photograph of the one person that he felt belonged to him, and who he also felt, he belonged to. He would die to protect her without hesitation, and was somehow comforted to know that he had found something that important to him, something he felt was truly worth dying for.

A creek came from the upstairs hallway, and soon Kisame came walking out onto the stairs.

"Had a good sleep?" Kisame asked, grinning.

"Hai..." whispered Sakura, smiling and rubbing her nose on Itachi's chest. Realizing that she was still naked but that Kisame could not see her body because of the angle, she reached down for the blanket and pulled it up so that it covered her head and Itachi's shoulder.

Itachi took this opportunity to cop a feel. Looking down at her with an eyebrow raised, he stroked his hand down her backside, slowing when he reached the top of her cheeks. Sakura giggled and blushed with excitement. Squeezing him close, she gently placed tiny kisses upon his chest, making him jump from the tickles.

"I don't know what you're doing under there, but please stop," said Kisame, watching the scene with disgust, but chuckled when he turned his back to them.

"There's a storm coming," said Kisame, smelling the air. "It's going to be a long one. We'll have to stay a day at the very least."

Kisame walked over to the back door and opened it to reveal a wide porch. Stepping out onto the veranda, Kisame looked back and forth, observing the wind and watching the movement of the clouds.

"I'm going to send a message to Deidara. He should be able to contact Konoha on our location," Kisame said, stretching.

The thought of going back to Konoha did not bode well with Sakura. She knew that if she went back, Itachi would not be able to go back with her. She'd be left alone all over again, and the thought made her sick to her stomach.

Itachi noticed that Sakura stopped moving. Looking over to Kisame, Itachi jerked his head to tell him to leave them. Immediately getting the hint, Kisame nodded and went out the front door to get the message to Deidara.

Still with an emotionless expression on his face, Itachi slowly lifted the blanket off of Sakura's head. She had her head tilted down and away so that Itachi couldn't see her face, so he picked her up and pulled her onto his chest for a hug.

Sakura sighed heavily. She knew she didn't have to say anything about what was wrong, and the silent communication between them was all that was needed to be said. Holding her tightly, he watched her draw tiny circles on his chest with her finger and smash her face into him when she was done. Sitting up, Itachi placed his hand on her face and stared at her intently until she looked him in the eye. As she stared back at him, her eyes began to get teary, at which point Itachi proceeded to pull her in for another hug.

Sakura could feel her heart breaking all over again. She knew that it was not long before she would have to return, and she found herself once again confused as to which path she should take. Now that she knew what it was like to be back in Konoha without him, she wondered what it would be like to walk the same path as Itachi.

"Don't think about it," said Itachi.

Kissing her forehead, he got up to put on his clothes. Sakura got up to do the same. With their backs turned to eachother, Itachi's face had a more solemn look than usual as he pulled over his shirt. Sakura looked down at the ground as she did so as well.

Walking out onto the veranda, Itachi sat to lean against a post, letting Sakura sit between his legs and lean back against him. Soon the rain began to trickle harder until it began to pour, the wind blowing towards the front of the house so that it shielded them from getting wet.

Sakura entwined her fingers with Itachi's and looked out into the rain as if trying to foresee the future, wishing that the storm would never end. Itachi stared down at her, holding his precious belonging with his whole heart. Though he had told her not to think about it, he himself could not help but imagine the outcomes of their fate, and each time he came to a conclusion, he found himself alone.

Itachi knew that if she went back to Konoha, it would have to be alone. If he brought her with him on his journeys, he didn't know what she would think of all the decisions he would have to make as a member of Akatsuki. She probably wouldn't stick around very long. As he considered all of the possibilities, never once did he think about leaving Akatsuki. There was just too much he had running with them. There was one thing, however, he knew that he could never give up, and that was Sakura. He wouldn't be able to stop loving her, even if he tried.

"What are you thinking?" asked Sakura, noticing that he was far off someplace else.

"Mmm?...Nothing," he mumbled, hugging her close.

"...You know what I love best about you..." said Sakura, smiling and looking downward. "You never have an expression on your face and your eyes are glazed over when you speak to everyone else, but when you look at me, your eyes tell me everything."

Itachi said nothing. He knew it was true. There was something about Sakura that softened his expression every time he looked at her.

_So..._thought Itachi. _This is my weakness..._

Suddenly the front door burst open and Kisame came barging in. Sakura immediately got up so that Itachi could stand and walk over to Kisame who had a look of worry on his face.

"Deidara has informed me that he's met up with the group from Konoha, but there's a problem. Deidara's received word that Orochimaru is on the move. Apparently he's coming to claim Sasuke, and the only way to get him back is to silence the girl. Orochimaru may not be able to eliminate you, but if killing Sakura is the closest thing he has to getting Sasuke back, he'll do what it takes."

Itachi looked over his shoulder at Sakura. Narrowing his eyes, Itachi feared that it would have resorted to a confrontation like this.

"There's just one more thing," said Kisame. "Deidara said that Orochimaru had sent Kabuto to go looking for Sasuke..."

Itachi immediately looked back. The presence they felt the other night was Kabuto's. That meant that Kabuto was aiming to kill Sakura, but why would he wait when he had her in his sight?

_Sasuke..._thought Itachi._ He's waiting for Sasuke to show up first. _

However, just as Itachi turned around to look at Sakura who was still standing on the veranda looking at them, a figure with black hair could be seen approaching from behind her. Suddenly the flash of sword was seen and before Sakura knew it, she turned to see Sasuke's sharingan eyes and his sword unsheathed, blocked by Itachi's kunai as he stood between them.

_Fast..._thought Sakura.

As Sasuke stood there locked with Itachi, his eyes flashed over to Sakura that sent chills up her spine. He was still after her even with Itachi right there.

Suddenly an explosion went off, blasting the front doors open. As the dust began to settle, Sakura and Kisame saw the gleam of Kabuto's glasses.

As Kabuto stood before them, Kisame stepped in between him and Sakura, cocking his head as if to say, "you're not getting past."

Sakura slipped on her gloves, she was getting ready to fight.

"No, Sakura," said Itachi. His breathing hadn't changed, regardless of the struggle before him.

"So, Sasuke," said Kabuto from the other side. "You just couldn't let it go, could you."

"Butt out, Kabuto," said Sasuke darkly.

The look that Kabuto got after he heard Sasuke's response told everyone looking at him that this time, Sasuke meant business, and that even Kabuto was scared to intervene.

At that moment, Sasuke managed to complete his slice, causing Itachi to jump back. However, as Itachi jumped back his hand stuck out to feel where Sakura was standing. The problem was, she wasn't there. Looking sideways, he couldn't see her.

"Too late, Itachi," said Sasuke standing in front of him.

Dashing forward to strike him, Itachi dug his kunai into Sasuke's heart, and immediately understood. It was another copy.

As the copy dissipated before him, Itachi looked around to see where Sakura was taken, but all he saw was the struggle between Kisame and Kabuto as they lashed out at eachother, Kisame's sword against Kabuto's devastating chakra cuts. Faced with the one enemy that could weaken his main source of attacking just by getting close, and seeing that Sasuke had disappeared yet again, Kabuto knew this fight was going nowhere. So, taking his leave, Kabuto disappeared as well.

Being left behind, Itachi's gut wrenched at him as he was pissed off at the fact that he let Sasuke get away with Sakura. One thing was for sure, and that was Sasuke wouldn't kill her unless it was in front of him. The desperation he felt to get her back unharmed was overwhelming, but he did not show it.

"Kisame," said Itachi.

Kisame nodded.

Grabbing everything they had left behind, Itachi bent over and swept up Sakura's headband that was still sitting above her pillow. He then headed straight out the front door, alongside Kisame. There was only one real option that they had now, and that was to hope that Sasuke would come to find them. However, Akatsuki never left things to chance, so Itachi and Kisame set out to make another one.


	12. Chapter 12

"Nee, Kakashi-sensei, where are we?" asked Naruto with an exhausted look on his face.

"We are now entering the southern penninsula of Fire Country, Naruto," said Kakashi looking bothered. "You've never been to this area, have you?"

"No," said Naruto, sniffing the air. "It smells funny."

"It's the marshes," said Neji, walking next to Lee.

Lee looked distraught. He never had a good night's rest since Sakura was reported missing, and the fact that she was in the hands of his competition, he was all the more distraught.

_"Sakura-chaaaannn..."_ mumbled Lee as they went.

"Too bad TenTen didn't come," said Naruto looking over at him. "She's the only one able to snap Lee out of that."

_FWAP!!_

"If you don't shut up I'll explode your limbs on the spot," said Deidara looking fed up. "You've been doing that ever since I met up with you guys. Sakura is Itachi's girl, get over it."

"AAAAAHH!!" yelled Lee, stuffing his face in his hands.

"You shouldn't have said that," said Neji rolling his eyes. "It cripples him."

"Now, now, let's not get violent," said Kakashi, feeling like he was escorting a group of kids rather than leading a team. "Jiraiya, where was Orochimaru last reported?"

"Mmmm, well, he was entering through the western border of Konoha when we had left, so we have about a day and a half's headstart on reaching Itachi's group before him. That doesn't mean we'll find them before Sasuke and Kabuto does, though."

The group had been travelling for some time and had slowed upon news of Akatsuki's location of Sakura. However, that sigh of relief did not last long when they heard that Orochimaru was on the prowl for Sakura as well. They knew it wouldn't take long for him to locate Sasuke, and eventually Sakura, if Sasuke had been following her so closely.

Jiraiya's presence in the group was a little unusual. He had not travelled with a team in years, and the only travelling companion he had most recently was Naruto. He was used to having Naruto with him, but the rest of the group seemed to make him a little agitated as he now had to walk following everyone else's pace.

As the group finally reached the southern coast, they breathed deep breaths as the smell of the ocean was much more refreshing than the marshes.

"I'll contact Itachi on our location," said Deidara, but as he walked away, he stopped short and reached for shuriken in his bag.

The others immediately took notice of his sudden alertness. As they stared into the trees, they saw movement of two figures approaching them. Each taking a defensive and offensive stance, they watched as Itachi and Kisame emerged from the treeline.

"Eh!?" said Deidara, looking at them surprised. "That was quick...but where's Sakura."

"Taken..." said Kisame. "...by Sasuke."

"_GASP! MY LOVE!!" _squealed Lee, holding his fists to his mouth, his vision starting to swirl.

"What!?" yelled Naruto. "You mean you lost her!?"

Gritting his teeth and clenching his fists, he looked as if he was seeing Orochimaru.

"Here's the interesting thing," said Kisame, ignoring Naruto's attitude. "Sasuke took Sakura but is at the same time avoiding Kabuto. Apparently he's still adverse to the idea of interference. So in essence, we don't have to worry about Sakura being killed just yet. As long as she's with Sasuke and not with Kabuto, she will be kept alive. Let's hope it stays that way. We'll need to reach her before Kabuto or Orochimaru finds her first. Waiting for Sasuke to appear before Itachi again may take too long, that's why we came to find you."

"Got what I need?" asked Kakashi, immediately catching on.

Itachi tossed him Sakura's headband. The whole scene seemed strangely familiar to all of them.

"First," said Kakashi. "We'll need to pick up the scent where you last saw her. Lead the way."

Nodding, Itachi turned to lead the group back to the house.

* * *

Sakura awoke to the sound of waves and the smell of salt. Sitting up, she rubbed the back of her neck. She had almost forgotten what had happened, but immediately alerted herself to the potential danger she must be in. Looking around she found that she was sitting in a cave by the shore, Sasuke nowhere in sight.

Jumping up, she dashed out of the cave and turned left to run alongside the rocks that hung slightly over the water a few feet below. However, just as she had gotten ten feet away from the cave's entrance, she was knocked hard on her left side and was sent flying into the water below. Luckily it was just deep enough with sand covering the ocean floor, otherwise the rocks would have sliced her really good.

Getting up, Sakura looked up to see Sasuke come flying down at her, but she managed to jump out of the way just in time before his foot met her head. Landing on the surface of the water, she immediately sent a chakra-filled punch to his chest, making contact as he landed to blast him back skimming across the water. However, as he slowly stood up, Sakura could feel the killing intent had intensified.

Turning, she began running away from him because she knew that her speed was no match for his. Just as she was about to bound up the side of the rocks back to shore, Sasuke appeared before her and again slammed her back across the water.

Placing her hands upon the ocean surface to pull herself up, Sakura gave Sasuke a look that could kill, before standing up straight to face him.

"So, after all this time, you still can't beat your brother, can you?" she shouted. "Pitiful. All that hard work for nothing."

Sasuke was infuriated. She dared to go there and call him out on his insecurities.

"What's the matter, Sasuke-kun? Couldn't take on your brother yourself so you had to come after me, huh? Well, I've got news for you Sasuke, I'm not the same little girl chasing after your back. Come to think of it, you never cared enough to stay for Naruto, so what makes me think you ever gave a shit about me. Worthless, is what it was. Chasing after you was worthless!"

Sakura was enraged. She couldn't believe how far Sasuke had fallen. Charging forward with lightning speed she began delivering blows that gave Sasuke a run for his money. As she struck the air repeatedly, she could feel that Sasuke was really pushing to move out of the way. Just a graze would be sufficient to slow him down enough for her to get a real punch in. As Sasuke got tired of dodging her well-aimed sweeps and punches, he decided to end it with a full-body chitori. However, this was the moment that Sakura was waiting for, the moment she was counting on and was prepared for.

Bounding backwards, Sakura threw her shinai bag to the side so that the electrical charges chased after it, creating an opening for her to deliver a solid blow to Sasuke's soloplex, despite the fact that she was shocked in the process. Sakura could feel that she had made contact, and the harsh impact in turn made Sasuke's chitori die. As she watched her punch lift him high into the air, her eyes sharpened as he coughed blood at her.

_Got him, _she thought.

As Sasuke dropped back down, Sakura whipped out a seringe filled with an anesthesia that would knock him out immediately. Positioning herself below him so that the speed of her hand stabbing him would be increased by the rate of his fall, the seringe was right about to make contact, but not soon enough. Sasuke grabbed the seringe as he fell and dropped to the surface of the water before swinging down and around, coming from behind to stab her in the neck with it.

The world around Sakura began to swirl as she felt her feet slip slowly below the water's surface, but just as she felt the top of her shins submerge, she could feel herself being swept up by Sasuke. As the shape and colors of his face began to blur, she watched the image of his hair blowing in the wind before passing into a deep sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Sakura could feel heat from a fire warming the left side of her body. The rest of her felt chilled and damp. Opening her eyes, she looked up at the ceiling of a cave. The darkness around her told her that it was night. What was strange was that she could not smell the ocean anymore, nor could she hear the sound of waves crashing. Putting her hand to her forehead, she had a pounding headache. Arching herself up, she used her other arm to boost herself into a sitting position.

As her vision slowly returned, she looked up to see out the entrance of the cave. Standing in its archway was Sasuke with his back to her. Edging herself up, Sakura swayed back and forth, putting a hand on the cave's wall to steady herself. Her breath was short and she could hear her own heartbeat. The effects of the anesthesia had not yet worn off.

Inching her way along the wall, she could at least feel the rocks crumble beneath her hands as she dragged them. As she looked back up at Sasuke, she could tell that he hadn't moved. Just as she made her way to its opening, she paused to try and see where she was.

She couldn't see the moon, nor did she recognize her surroundings. One thing was for sure, and that was that they were nowhere near the ocean anymore. Sakura didn't even know if they were still on the penninsula.

A sharp pain ran through her head and Sakura once again lifted her hand to clutch at the source of pain.

_"Where..."_ she gasped. _"...aaaaahhh..."_

The pain ran strong again and she couldn't finish her sentence. Suddenly the world swirled about her and she lost her balance, her hand slipping off the cave wall so that she began to fall. Just as she was about hit the ground, Sasuke caught her and swept her up in his arms. Walking into the cave, he sat with her on his lap.

_Strange..._ she thought. _He's so much like Itachi..._

Bringing her hand up, she felt his face.

"You've grown so much," she whispered, her eyes barely open. "Why did you leave us?"

Her stream of conciousness was hindered by the drugs, and everything that she had always meant to say, suddenly came streaming from her lips.

"I waited so long..." she whimpered, beginning to tear. "...Naruto waited..."

Sasuke did not respond, he just stared into the fire. His face did not even soften to the sound of her questions. After a moment of silence, Sasuke's brow furrowed, revealing his anger towards her.

"Why Itachi?" he asked. "...Of all people, why Itachi?"

Sakura's hand slumped back. Looking down, a solemn look crossed her face.

"...Because you never came back..."

As Sakura passed back into a deep sleep, Sasuke was left alone once again. Sitting there he stared into the fire, unmoved, and not breathing. The last words that Sakura spoke seemed to have sucked the breath from his body. His heart suddenly wrenched in pain and his stomach churned.

_...How did this happen?..._ he thought. _...I lost everything. Anything and everything that was worth anything...lost. _

Looking down at Sakura, Sasuke suddenly realized the consequences of his actions. He had lost Sakura, he had lost Naruto, and now, now he didn't know how they could ever take him back.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke remembered the most painful moment in all the years that he had been gone from Konoha. It was the moment when he had actually hurt Sakura. Hurting Naruto and other shinobi from Konoha was different. SHE was different.

Suddenly a swarm of what he had done to Sakura back at Orochimaru's lair came flooding in. In this whole time that Sasuke had kept this in his memory, he had finally stopped to look back at the moment he beat Sakura to near death.

_...Her face..._ he thought, looking down at Sakura.

The look that Sakura had while he beat her crushed his heart. Only now did he see what really happened.

_...She didn't fight back..._

Tears began to stream down Sasuke's face. He finally understood. It was not that Sakura couldn't have fought back, it was that she didn't. Sakura had chosen not fight back, simply because she knew that what she had done was hurt him, betrayed him, but ultimately for her this was her consequence for being with Itachi, and she had accepted it. However, the most disturbing thought was the look on her face, how she shut her eyes in fear whenever he got close, how it immediately turned to sorrow after every time he struck, and in all those moments of fear and pain, her eyes still looked at him with love lost.

_...How? How could I have done that?... Sakura... She loved me unconditionally, more than anyone else...and I did that to her..._

Picking Sakura up, Sasuke laid her gently by the fire. Standing up straight, he walked outside to the nearest tree and punched his bare fist into the bark. The texture of the tree sliced his knuckles. He didn't want to puncture the tree, just hit it hard enough so that it hurt. Switching fists, he punched with the other one, rotating between the two so that they began to bleed. As he repeated the act again and again, eventually he heard a crunch. He had broken a knuckle. Switching to the other hand, he punched with it until he heard a crunch from that hand too.

"Stop!!" cried Sakura, suddenly flinging herself at Sasuke. Her aim was a little off from the anesthesia, so she missed and fell before him, making him catch her in his arms.

As Sakura clawed at Sasuke groggily to stand, she looked up at him with an angry look.

"Baka..." she said.

Sakura's legs gave way and she fell to her knees taking Sasuke down with her. Following his arms so that she could find his hands despite the haze that still clogged her vision, Sakura took both his hands up, and began to use whatever chakra she had to heal them.

Sasuke was dumbfounded. Even now, after their fight and all that he had done to her, she still loved him unconditionally. Staring at her as she swayed, Sasuke blushed as she held both hands against her chest to steady her movements.

When Sakura was finished, she brought his hands to her face.

"Don't do that," she whispered, before falling forward into his chest, exhausted.

Sasuke froze. He didn't know what to think. After a moment or two, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her. Putting one hand over his face, he began to cry. The guilt had overwhelmed him.


	14. Chapter 14

Knowing full well that he still could not forgive Itachi for his actions, Sasuke decided that he would not hold anything against Sakura. What she had done was her choice, and he could not with all his strength, find it in his heart to hate her. This was his fault. He understood that. So, unable to face his guilt should Sakura awaken, Sasuke decided that it was best if he left her alone.

Placing her back in the cave, Sasuke collected wood to keep the fire burning through the night. As he was about to leave, Sasuke kneeled beside Sakura and placing his hand upon her face, bent down and kissed her lips. It was the first time that he had felt such a passion in his heart. In that moment, he would have traded his whole life to be able to go back in time to be with her. After all those years that she had chased him, this was the first time that he had ever looked back at her. Pulling out his kunai, Sasuke took a lock of her hair, wrapped it in a piece of cloth, and stuffed it into his gi. Standing up, he walked out of the cave and began to make his way through the trees.

Putting his hand over his gi where the lock of Sakura's hair was being held, Sasuke felt his heart burn with each step he took further and further away. However, the moment of longing was short-lived as Sasuke felt a presence up ahead.

Coming down from the trees, Sasuke crouched behind a bush. He could hear voices.

"Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto, trailing behind. "Are you sure that Sasuke had come this way?"

"The smell of Sasuke is faint but distinct. It's him." hissed Orochimaru.

Sasuke paused. He knew that it would not be long before they found Sakura's cave. Looking towards the ground, Sasuke knew he had to make a choice: get to Sakura before they do, or let fate take its course. Sasuke stayed there for a while listening to their footsteps trailing away.

Sasuke jumped up. Doubling back, Sasuke rushed back to the cave. As he hurried, ahead he could see the glow of the fire emanating from the cave, but it was too late. Coming to a stop several yards from the cave, he could see Orochimaru and Kabuto entering. As he waited to see what would happen, he heard their voices echoing from inside the cave.

"Do you think he was here?" asked Kabuto.

"Maybe…." said Orochimaru with irritation in his voice. "There's a much stronger smell though…..shampoo…."

As Sasuke listened to the conversation, he thought it was strange that they did not mention Sakura. Suddenly a cough came from behind him.

Turning around, Sasuke found Sakura lying on the ground. She had vomited. From what it looked like, she had tried to chase after him when he left.

Not saying a word, Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her onto his back. Sasuke shrugged to get a better hold of her, and then took off into the night. Looking back, he could not sense anyone following and he did not think that Orochimaru was alerted to their movements. Believing that he had gotten away safely, Sasuke knew that it was just a matter of time before they picked up his trail.

* * *

Sakura could feel herself moving. Peeking her eyes open, she could see the sun shining through the trees as she felt herself being carried through the air. Blinking her eyes, she turned her head to see who was carrying her.

Sakura gasped.

"Don't move," said Sasuke. "I'll lose my balance."

Peeking down, Sakura could see that they were bounding through the treetops.

"Wha…."

"Orochimaru is on our trail. We need to keep moving…" said Sasuke, answering her question.

Sakura found his temperament very strange. As she remained silent, she slowly began to remember last night's events. Putting a hand over her face, Sakura felt embarrassed.

_…Oh my god…what did I say!? _she thought.

"Where are…" she stammered.

"I'm taking you back to Konoha. It's the safest place," said Sasuke, answering her question again.

_Safest place!?_ thought Sakura, thinking she must have hit her head somewhere along the way.

Unable to think of anything else to say, Sakura remained quiet. However, as it was now dawn, Sasuke had well reached his limit. Finding a grassy spot, Sasuke came to a stop before letting Sakura down. Not saying anything, he took off his gi and folding it, used it as a pillow so he could sleep.

Sakura was beyond weird. Didn't he realize that she could just run away? Shocked by the turn of events, Sakura sat down and tucked her knees in. Looking over at Sasuke, she wondered why she wasn't running away.

"Keep watch," said Sasuke with his eyes closed.

Even more shocked, Sakura could only shake her head yes. Looking up at the sky, she could see that it was almost noon. Leaning her back against a tree, Sakura began to count the hours until nightfall.

* * *

When the late afternoon rolled around, Sakura began to yawn but cut it short when her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten that whole time. Luckily there was a stream nearby where she was able to get a drink, and more so, wash the taste of vomit out of her mouth.

"Hungry?" asked Sasuke suddenly.

Sakura jumped.

"There's a village nearby," said Sasuke, sitting up. "Let's get something to eat."

As they made their way toward the village, Sakura could not help but notice how strange they might look passing by. However, as they approached the village, Sakura noticed that the characters who were there were a lot more strange-looking than they were.

Turning her head from left to right, Sakura noticed that there weren't any women around. Something gave her the feeling that this was no ordinary village. As she passed her eyes over the scenery, she began to recognize some of them. Some were listed as Class A criminals.

"Here," said Sasuke, giving her a pouch. "Get us something to eat."

Stopping in the middle of the road, Sakura watched Sasuke walk off.

Sakura had never felt as many eyes upon her at once, and it didn't feel like the normal kind of threat. At that moment, she felt like a giant steak that was tossed into a pen of ravaging wolves.

_Well,_ she thought. _I'm just going to have to make it appear as if this type of atmosphere doesn't bother me. _

Walking into the nearest bar, Sakura went to the counter and ordered two bentos to go. As the creepy bartender placed the order, Sakura felt a hand grab her behind.

_BOOM!!_

Sakura had punched the criminal so hard that he skidded all the way out into the road. As he got up, Sakura's fist had already met with his face, but this time she had room not to cause any damage, so she sent him flying down the road. Everyone around her gawked at her sheer power.

"ANYONE ELSE WANNA FUCK WITH ME!?" she yelled. Her eyes seared through everyone that was standing on that road.

As the crowd dispersed, only a few were brave enough to look on.

Grabbing her order from the bartender, she stomped off down the street to the other end of the village. By that time, everyone she encountered stepped aside because they had already heard of what an impression she made. As she neared the end of the road however, she ran into group of men looking for some action.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a criminal infested place like this?" asked a man with tattoos. "You lost?"

Sakura recognized this shinobi immediately. He was listed in the bingo book. There was no mistaking the tattoos he had, this one was bad.

"Can I buy you a drink?" said another man. He had three scars carved deep into his face. "We can have lots of fun."

"Piss off," said Sakura, looking them dead in the eye.

"Oh, she likes it rough, huh?" said a third man, circling behind her.

_Gross,_ that's all she could think.

This third guy stunk really bad, and it was a wonder that he had friends willing to be around his stench. As the third man came back to the front, Sakura's path was blocked by the three of them. Passing her eyes over them, she knew that she would be fine with just the other two, but the man from the bingo book was going to be much more of a challenge. She wasn't sure if she could make it if she had two others to worry about. The odds were against her.

"Move, or be moved," said Sakura calmly.

"I choose to be moved," said the shinobi with tattoos, looking up and down Sakura as he said so.

_BOOM!!_

Before Sakura could respond, the shinobi with tattoos got blasted backwards. As the dust cloud settled, Sakura opened her eyes to see that Sasuke stood between them.

"Is there a problem?" said Sasuke, scaring the other two shinobi with his eyes alone.

Looking behind them, the two shinobi saw that the guy who got hit was not moving. They didn't see his attack coming. Frightened by Sasuke's speed, they ran off.

Turning around, Sasuke faced a sudden swarm of shinobi that had gathered behind them. As they looked at him in anger, Sasuke merely turned back around, put his arm around Sakura, and together they proceeded to walk out of the village unharmed.

"Ari…"

"Did you get my food?" said Sasuke sharply.

"Ha..Hai…." stammered Sakura, handing over the package. "Nothing sweet."

Pulling out a bento, Sasuke handed the bag back to Sakura before walking away to eat. Feeling lonesome, Sakura sat where she stood and opened her bento.

Memories began show themselves as Sakura looked at her bento. There were many times that Team 7 shared bentos. The first ever being the day they became a team. It was amazing to think how special moments were shared over such a little thing. Sakura, picking up her chopsticks, proceeded to take her meal alone.

"Itadakimasu…"

* * *

As dusk fell, Sakura and Sasuke came upon an opening in the forest. The grass here was soft as the rain could easily reach it. Lying down upon the grass, Sasuke rolled onto his side so that he faced away from Sakura. Sakura lay down on her back, and stayed awake to watch the stars come out.

The whole scene felt incredibly nostalgic. There were so many nights that she and Sasuke slept under the stars like this with Kakashi and Naruto by their sides. Sakura remembered how they always made her sleep in the middle, a natural way of protecting a girl as she slept. She was lucky, she knew, to be in the company of such a group of wonderful friends. These thoughts however, were soon invaded by something much more pressing.

Sasuke's sudden appearance back there, she had to admit, was quite dashing. The way he looked when he suddenly defended her was too much for her to bear.

Sakura blushed. After all this time, Sasuke still held a control over her just as he somehow did before. She never understood what drove her so crazy over him. Looking back at it, she felt stupid. Taking a deep breath, Sakura let out a big sigh.

Although Sasuke had remained lying on his side for over an hour now, he was still wide awake. Hearing her sigh made him anxious. She was so close to him, lying just five feet away. Thinking back, he felt embarassed at the thought of his protecting Sakura.

Sakura turned away from Sasuke, but as she lay there something caught her attention.

_Is that me!?_ she thought, catching a whiff of her armpit as her head lay on her arm.

The thought of Sasuke or anyone smelling her that way was too much to bear, and she hoped that his shinobi senses didn't pick up on the smell. Sitting up quietly, she looked over at Sasuke to see if he was asleep. Thinking that he might think that she ran away, Sakura decided to leave her pleated sash behind. Tip-toeing away, Sakura went in search of a stream.

Walking through the forest was nice. It had not yet gotten chilly, so she figured she had a good chance to dry off well. Soon she came upon a small waterfall with a deep basin to catch the water below.

_Perfect!_ she thought.

Making her way down to the pool, she looked back and forth to see if she could sense any presence. Feeling nothing, she began to strip off her clothes.

Stepping into the pool, Sakura was freezing but feeling fresh already. Diving down, Sakura shook her head to get the dirt out of her hair. She didn't have any soap or shampoo, but it would have to do for now. Coming back up, Sakura did a backfloat to watch the stars. She giggled at how funny she must look, but it made her feel giddy and naughty, so she closed her eyes in pure bliss.

_Too bad Ino's not here, then I could have someone to share this stupid moment with,_ thought Sakura.

Opening her eyes, Sakura saw a shooting star. As her conciousness glazed over with peace and tranquility, she made a wish.

_I wish that everything would turn out alright,_ she thought.

Sitting up, Sakura swam back and forth in the pool, streaming through the water like an otter.

After a short time, Sakura had begun to wade out of the pool when something stopped her.

_Ouch!_

Sakura felt like her foot got stuck on a reed or something. As she tried to wiggle her foot out, she couldn't seem to find a way to slip her heel through. She thought it was strange that she could have slipped her foot into something so snuggly without noticing.

Sakura had to duck her head under the water to reach her ankle, but was unable to feel out what it was that had caught her. Coming back up for air, she wiped the water from her face before going down for another try. What was stranger than before was the fact that she could not feel anything, anything at all. It was as if her ankle was bare. Surfacing, Sakura soon found that her suspicions were warranted.

Arms suddenly wrapped themselves around Sakura's neck, and she was yanked so that her leg was stretched away from where her foot was stuck.

"Well, well, well... what have we here?" said a harsh voice.

Sakura turned to see that it was the shinobi with tattoos who had caught her. Yanking her again, Sakura felt her leg stretch in pain. Unable to get a sure footing with that angle, the only thing keeping Sakura's head from going under were her arms that hung onto him.

"Aaaaaw, don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you..." said the shinobi, brushing his cheek against hers.

"Let me go..." warned Sakura.

"But why? I don't think you want to go..."

"I warned you..."

Suddenly, Sakura bit down hard on the shinobi's arm, biting so deep that the blood squirted into her mouth as she bit.

The shinobi immediately let go of Sakura, screaming. The juitsu that the shinobi was using suddenly released Sakura's leg. Ducking below the water, Sakura used the current to distance herself from him. Coming back up, she could still hear him screaming. There was blood gushing from his arm, and he looked furious.

Concentrating chakura on her palms, Sakura began to pull herself up and onto the surface of the water, but she was instead grabbed around the wrist and yanked up instead. Standing between the shinobi and her was Sasuke. Taking off his gi, Sasuke passed it back to her without looking.

"You again?" seethed the shinobi. "I'll tear your little girlfriend apart in front of your eyes and make you watch."

The water around them began to churn. Between the shinobi and Sasuke, a whirlpool began to form. However, Sakura wasn't fooled.

Looking from side-to-side, Sakura remembered well that the bingo book listed this shinobi's specialty in surprise attacks using the water element and genjuitsu, illusions of the mind. The whirlpool was not an illusion, but rather a distraction so that he could use genjuitsu without them noticing.

_There_! she thought.

"KAI!!" she yelled, before jumping off the surface of the water. However, she was stopped short as Sasuke grabbed her by the gi and pulled her into him. Drawing his sword, he cut off the shinobi's head in one fell swoop before landing on the opposite bank. As Sakura watched the world around her begin to swirl, she saw that she was already in a genjuitsu that she did not break.

_How did he?..._ she thought, bewildered.

Sakura soon realized that the shinobi had somehow cast two separate genjuitsus. The second was the real distraction, obviously cast so that she would move, while the first was cast at a time she thought hard to discover.

Sakura gasped.

_It was while I was swimming away..._ she thought. _What calculation..._

Sakura's surprise doubled when she saw what the shinobi was hiding. The area that she was standing in had what looked like giant claw of water that was about to engulf the area of where she had been standing. She would have drowned if the shinobi managed to touch her with it. Lucky for her, Sasuke's Sharingan saw right through the genjuitsu. Without it, she may have died.

The post-thought-process of battle was soon overwhelmed. Sakura had finally realized that she was still scathely clothed and pressed against Itachi's brother.

_"Aaaah!"_ she shrieked, jumping back.

Closing the gi around her as tightly as she could, she turned red from head to toe.

Sasuke could not help but blush, though the darkness hid the coloration well. Turning, Sasuke walked back to where he was laying.

When Sakura was sure he was gone, she climbed down to where she had left her clothes. Crouching down, she could not help but sneak a tiny whiff of his gi.

Standing up, Sakura giggled to herself.

_Sasuke smells good, alright...but nowhere nearly as good as his brother does! _


	15. Chapter 15

It was late into the evening when Kakashi's team came upon the village that Sakura and Sasuke had passed through just hours before their arrival. The village was still teeming with life, and the smell of food wafted up to the ledge where they were standing.

"Well," asked Kakashi, "what do you think Jiraiya-sama?"

"Hmmmm... they could have come through here, or at the very least, someone must have seen them. It's everyday you see a girl with pink hair..."

"Do you think it's wise to advertise our movement? Orochimaru-sama may discover that we've picked up their scent."

"That's true," said Jiraya, stretching. "Though, we could find the state of things if we don't appear to be ourselves."

At that point, Jiraiya put his hands on his head and smiled over to Kakashi.

"Akatsuki may not want to advertise themselves, either..." said Jiraiya, smiling over to them.

"Alright everyone," said Kakashi looking lazy. "Time to change outfits. All symbols of Konoha need to be put away. This village is a haven for shinobi gone awry, we'll need to dress the part in order for our whereabouts not to be seen...Does everyone have additional clothing?"

"I DO!" shouted Lee.

Reaching into his bag, Lee pulled forth a sleek outfit, much like the green one he was wearing, except it was black. Smiling a sparkling smile and giving the thumbs-up, he was winked at Neji who shuddered.

"I have an extra one! It comes with an eye-patch!" Lee chanted to Kisame.

"You're sick..." said Kisame, raising a furrowed brow.

"I'll take the patch," said Kakashi. "You just change out of that green suit. That green is well-known for being the trademark of Gai-sensei. I guess the black's better than nothing."

As the team began to remove all headbands, Kakashi noticed that they all looked too clean.

"Neji," said Kakashi, looking him up and down. "You're too clean. Do something."

Neji took a look at himself. It was true. His all white ensemble didn't fit the part. Ignoring an ecstatic Lee wiggling the additional black suit, Neji dug into his back to find a black outfit that was pretty uniform for most shinobi. Luckily, the symbol for the branch house branded to Neji's forehead was already covered by bandages, but his hairstyle was very formal. So, Neji tied his hair into a ponytail and ran his fingers through it several times to make it look thrashed from the wind.

"Hmmm..." said Kakashi, analyzing the new ensemble. "Your eyes will give you away..."

"Here," said Itachi, handing Neji his straw hat.

"Good!" said Kakashi. "You look mysterious now!"

Kisame and Itachi both took off their coats while Jiraiya stood there watching. There was nothing he could do with his outfit.

"I am too handsome that I am unable to hide myself," said Jiraiya with his arms crossed. "Anyway, I don't look like a typical shinobi."

Kakashi tied the eye patch and took off his vest. Removing his gloves that were adorned with the Konoha symbol, he then proceeded to pull open the front of his shirt so that his chest was exposed a bit.

"There now!" said Kakashi. "Don't we look better!"

"I feel like I'm in a group of half-bit felons..." mumbled Naruto.

"Speak for yourself," said Deidara.

Deidara didn't have to try. He just pulled out his shirt so that it flapped in the wind as his chest covered with netting protruded with lean muscles. The only thing gone was his coat.

"Well, this is the best we can do for now," sighed Kakashi. "Let's go..."

* * *

Upon entering the village, people who were still walking the streets peered over at the unusual bunch passing through. It was quite obvious that the one in the sleek black outfit was gritting his teeth too hard, but the three in the back seemed to be quite at home.

It was the Akatsuki members who passed them off. Their cohesiveness is what made their party look right just enough so that people didn't do a triple-take.

"Stop at the bar up ahead," said Deidara. "There's a place we can stay."

"Whoah..." said Naruto, coming up to the bar. It looked as if there was a bit of a brawl as the sides of the door were broken outward.

As the team sat down at a table, there was a man sitting at the bar who was nursing his head and holding his back.

"Good job," said the bartender to the man. "You would think that if women rarely ever set foot in this place, that the only one who does would be a force to reckon with...baka..."

"Stupid pink-haired bitch..." mumbled the man. "I shouldn't have grabbed her ass..."

Before the man finish the last word, Itachi had already pinned him by the neck against the wall.

"What?" said Itachi, so calmly and with placid eyes. "You grabbed her what?"

"Who the fuck are you!?" squealed the man, squirming in the air.

"The woman you saw, what did she look like?" said Itachi, still placid, but even scarier.

"Short, pink hair...pinkish top, or fushia I think...she came in to buy two bentos. I heard she got into a fight with the guy with three scars on his face! He hangs out further down the road!"

"Was she with anyone?"

"I don't know! She did buy two bentos though!"

Itachi dropped the guy and smirked. So, those injuries were from her. The marks on the door must have been where she sent him flying.

Itachi returned to the table. Everyone was too stunned to get up and were just sitting there gawking at him. Having overheard the conversation as well, they soon were nodding in thought.

"That's my Sakura-chan!" said Lee.

"Poor bastard..." said Naruto. "I almost feel sorry for him. Sakura's looks can kill, alone."

"Well, atleast we know that she went through here," said Kakashi.

Looking over at Itachi, Deidara mumbled just enough for Akatsuki and Neji to hear.

"...but why was she alone..."

* * *

It was not long before they had found the shinobi with the three scars on his face, and it was not long before Itachi had him choking in his hand up against a wall.

"I didn't know who the guy was! He just showed up and defended her!" yelped the shinobi.

"What did he look like?" asked Itachi, his eyes beginning to show a slight bit of anger.

"He...he..." stammered the shinobi before suddenly getting a good look at Itachi. "He look like you! Only younger!"

Itachi's grip began to squeeze. The shinobi had his air supply cut into two.

"And why would she need protecting?" said Itachi, obviously catching on to whose fault it was.

The shinobi could not answer. However, before he was just about to pass out, Itachi dropped him to the floor.

The others looked on disturbed, while Deidara and Kisame looked on as if it were business. As Naruto shuddered at the cold-bloodedness of the situation, Deidara turned to him.

"You see, Naruto," said Deidara. "The difference between you and Akastuki differs only in one respect... no remorse. Free yourself from remorse over your enemies, and you will be able to completely eliminate hesitation and inconsistency. Hesitation is what causes you to lose the battle in that moment of decisiveness, while inconsistency inhibits your growth as a shinobi. Eliminate remorse and you eliminate these two. Remember that."


	16. Chapter 16

The morning sun was already high in the sky, and the sound of birds singing filled the clean crisp air of the forest. Standing at the top of a waterfall was Kakashi and the team. Looking down at the pool below, everything seemed tranquil except for one thing.

Floating at the edge of the embankment was the body of a decapitated person. The head was nowhere in sight, but judging by the muscular structure, they could tell it was a man. Kisame jumped down to the edge of the pool to get a closer look at the body.

"It was a clean cut, done by an extremely sharp object, long enough to do it in one swipe, probably was a sword," said Kisame, shouting to the others like a professor. "There's a strand of pink hair entangled with his clothing. He probably attacked Sakura..."

Kisame thought about the situation for a moment.

"She was alone... The clean cut was definitely Sasuke's blade, but he must've picked up on the attack later because it'd be incredibly difficult for a Sharingan user not to have seen him coming...That's the only way I can see it. Sakura isn't that easy to sneak up on either though...she must have been distracted, probably bathing by the looks of it," continued Kisame, looking up at Itachi.

Itachi showed nothing, but Kisame and Deidara already knew. Itachi's blood was probably boiling at the fact that Sasuke may have snuck a peak at Sakura, or even worse.

* * *

Sakura was becoming more relaxed. The woods were finally beginning to look familiar, but she felt as if she had a rope tied to her back that seemed to pull from where they came. She knew that in their situation they should be heading to Konoha, but at the same time, Sakura was worried about Itachi. She didn't know what was happening with him, and she didn't want him to think that she was in peril.

As the day continued on, Sakura became more and more worried about what was developing behind them. She began to lag a bit as she and Sasuke traveled forth among the trees, and by the time the sun reached high noon, it was obvious.

Stopping at the edge of a plain, Sasuke indicated to her that they were taking a break. He had not said a word to her since that night, and so he was now prone to making gestures instead. Sitting with her back to a tree, Sakura stared out onto the plane in the cover of the tree's shade. From the opposite side of the plain where they sat, Sakura could hear the loud roar of a waterfall. The smell of moisture was much stronger in the air. Closing her eyes, she let the breeze brush the tips of her hair against her nose.

Sasuke stood there watching her. Her sense of peacefulness made him calm, and it was the first time in a long time that he had really sat someplace to just breathe. Lowering himself onto the grass, Sasuke felt the touch of cool grass upon his fingertips. As the sun warmed his feet and shins, the shade made the rest of his body cool so that he let out a sneeze. Squirming, he inched his way while lying down so that sun came up to his hips, creating a balance of warmth and coolness.

Sakura let out a giggle. She watched his tussle with different temperatures with much amusement, and laughed at the thought that even the most skilled killers can have these moments of sillyness.

"Sakura..." said Sasuke.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you still wish that you had left Konoha with me?"

Sakura was shocked. What prompted such a question made her mind reel. Sasuke never asked her things like this before, nor had he ever spoken about subjects like this. She knew that it was a burning question that must have been growing in his heart, and she understood that it must have burned him extremely bad to get him to say it.

"I..." mumbled Sakura. "To be honest... I thought about it for a long time. I had always wanted to shadow you wherever you went, but then I realized something...I would have never been happy."

Sasuke was quiet and his eyes were closed.

"I'm not sure what kind of things Orochimaru dragged you through, and I don't think they were things that I would have been able to put up with. I...did love you, Sasuke... but I don't know if leaving with you would have destroyed my whole being...

"It... broke my heart when you left me back there... It took me a really long time to get over it," said Sakura, beginning to tear. "But...after a while, I realized that I would not be the shinobi I am today had I followed you. I do realize that I was young and naive, but had I left, I would still be that insignificant shinobi that just stood in the way..."

Sakura looked up at the sky, trying to speak her truth with calmness in her voice.

"I spent many nights crying, wishing you'd come back to me...I had always hoped that the reason you would have returned would be because you believed that I was worth it, worth forsaking your veangence for the chance at a full life... Everytime I passed the front gates I would look to the horizon hoping that you would suddenly appear, but you never did... I can't fully describe to you what it's like to have someone leave your heart bleeding by choice, knowing full well that they chose to take someone else's heart over yours. The best way I can describe it is it's like having a piece of your heart missing, except that you don't know it's gone until someone tells you it is, then the panic of loss and hopelessness combines to drown the rest of you because it's then when you realize...you never had it to begin with... I would have given anything to have made you stay... You were so very much a part of my life back then... your absence was unbearable, and it just got worse when Naruto left..."

A moment of silence passed before Sasuke opened his eyes. Sakura could tell from where she was sitting that they were lamentful. Sasuke sat up and crossed his legs. It was as if he wanted to be fully awake as he took it all in.

"Why Itachi?" he asked, his back turned to her.

Sakura held her breath. She had wished that this question would not come. Looking deep within herself, she knew that she had to fess up.

"Itachi..." Sakura fumbled. What could she say? There was nothing that she could say that would justify her falling in love with the person who massacred the Uchiha clan.

"Sasuke, I really don't know why of all people, it turned out to be Itachi... We fell...in love, I guess. I found qualities in Itachi that no one else has really seen. There are things about him that I can't describe that you nor anyone else would understand. He loves me for everything that I am, and I love him that way too. He is a man with many faults, but he is also a man whom of which I can see in his eyes, has acknowledged the wrongful doings of his past. There is nothing he can or could do to fix what he has done, and he realizes that. I do not know what Itachi was like when it all happened, but I do know that what I have seen before me was not the same Itachi as back then. He would give his life to protect me... and I would do the same for him."

There was no other way she could say it, and Sakura was hoping that Sasuke would not suddenly backlash at her for that. However, she had to confront him with her choice to the fullest degree, otherwise she could not be at peace with her decision and forever remain guilty.

The words "because you never came back" that had resonated in Sasuke's mind, suddenly grew to become as strong as drums that shook the heart. He felt like her loving Itachi was his fault, and he began to think that this could have all been prevented had he just stayed in Konoha. She had always loved him, but he had let vengeance overwhelm him, leaving his loss of her as the consequence. He did not know if Sakura still loved him, but perhaps there was something he could do to change his fate.

Sasuke stood up. When he turned to look at Sakura, she could see in his eyes that he was hurting. Walking over to her, Sasuke reached down to grab her wrist and pull her up. Staring into her eyes, Sasuke tried to tell her everything that he was feeling. Placing his hand on her face, Sasuke began to slowly reach down for a kiss.

Sakura was stunned and the world seemed to slow around her.

"No..." she whispered, pulling her hands to her chest.

Sasuke paused. Looking into her eyes, he could see that she still loved him, but he could also see that she meant what she said. Putting his hand down, he took a few steps back.

A moment of silence passed between them, and all that was heard was the rush of the wind through the void that separated them.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I belong to Itachi now..."

Sakura looked at him with tears in her eyes, and Sasuke could see that she was heartbroken. He had left her. She had moved on, and there was no turning back.

Sasuke looked down at the ground and nodded. He understood. Taking her hand in his, he tried his best to look her in the eye. Sakura did her best to give a tiny smile, a gesture showing that she knew he had accepted her choice. And so, keeping her hand in his grasp, Sasuke began to lead the way across the sloping plain towards the roaring waterfall in the distance.

After a few steps however, Sasuke suddenly stopped.

"Sakura..." he said quietly with his back to her. "That time I hurt you..."

"I know why you did it... I don't blame you..." said Sakura, squeezing his hand tenderly.

When she did so, Sasuke turned his head back slightly towards her, and stopped breathing. He felt his heart crush from the weight of her forgiveness. It was then that he knew just how much he loved her. Not daring to make eye contact, Sasuke accepted her answer and continued on.

Suddenly out of nowhere a kunai shot right at the hand that held Sakura's. Sakura gasped. As Sasuke whipped her hand away the kunai missed, and he turned to see where it had come from.

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke spotted a dark figure coming up quick. It was Itachi.

Itachi had seen Sasuke's advance on Sakura, and it pissed him off. Sasuke however, had become enraged within an instant. Without thinking, Sasuke grabbed Sakura from behind in a chokehold.

"Sasuke! Don't!" sobbed Sakura.

As soon as Sasuke got a hold of Sakura, Itachi stopped in his tracks just a few yards away.

_"ITACHI!!"_ yelled Sasuke, a firey rage gleaming from his eyes as the Sharingan showed itself.

_"SASUKE!!" _belowed Naruto as he ran towards the scene with the rest of the group.

Naruto stopped short behind Itachi, knowing full well not to step in front of him. Normally Naruto would have been right at the forefront due to his irrational nature, but somehow his instincts knew that this situation belonged to them.

"Are you prepared to see her die!?" yelled Sasuke.

Itachi read Sasuke's thoughts as they stood there. He knew Sasuke wouldn't do it. Soon, Itachi began to slowly step towards him. However, as he came within several yards of Sasuke, he stopped. Narrowing his eyes, Itachi spoke.

"So...Orochimaru... who will you find next after I've killed Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked stunned. Suddenly from out of the trees stepped Orochimaru. Kabuto was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, I guess I'd have to use someone from the Hyuuga clan," said Orochimaru, scanning his eyes over Neji and the rest of them.

Sasuke, put his mouth into Sakura's ear.

_"Run!" _he whispered.

"What?" said Sakura.

At that moment, Sasuke yanked her by the wrist and took off at a full sprint, heading towards the waterfall.

As the others were stunned as to what to do next, either chase after Sakura or prepare for Orochimaru's attack, their decision was made for them as Kabuto came bursting out of the ground amongst them. Before they knew it, Naruto and Lee's Achilles were cut, but everyone else jumped out of the way just in time.

Orochimaru put his hands up to summon a serpent but soon found a kunai aimed at his hands from Jiraiya. As Jiraiya came in with lightning speed to deliver a Rasengan to Orochimaru's chest, it soon revealed that it was just a copy. Turning around, Jiraiya knew exactly where Orochimaru was heading.

"He's going for Sasuke!!" yelled Jiraiya to the others.

Kakashi turned to see that Sasuke was already more than a hundred yards away with only Akatsuki on his tail. Soaring through the sky was Deidara.

However, as soon as Kakashi's hope for Deidara to beat Orochimaru to Sakura appeared, so too was it quickly dispelled as a giant snake appeared to clamp down upon Deidara's bird. Though Deidara was forced to abandon his bird to avoid the serpent's jaw, he caused the bird to explode, turning the head of the snake into an exploding cloud of blood and venom. The smell was awful.

Down below, Kisame kept neck and neck with Itachi as they approached Sasuke who was slowed by Sakura's speed.

_He's not letting her go..._ thought Itachi.

Itachi knew from a shinobi's standpoint that letting Sakura go would be the best alternative, so why would he continue to pull her along without killing her when he had the chance?

That's when it hit him.

_He's protecting her_...

Suddenly the ground between Itachi and Sasuke erupted with a giant snake.

"Itachi!!" Sakura screamed.

Sasuke yanked her to keep moving.

"He's catching up!" Sasuke yelled at her.

As they neared the edge of the cliff, the snake slammed into the ground sending a tsunami of earth that blasted Sasuke and Sakura out over the water, landing on a tiny island of rock that jutted out at the very edge of the waterfall. Sasuke fell onto the island, but Sakura shot just over its edge and was immediately swept out to drop.

Suddenly a hand shot out and caught Sakura's wrist. Looking up through the water that was striking her face, she could see it was Sasuke who held her life in his hands.

As Sasuke struggled to get a grip on her, he looked back over to where the snake had fallen. There, Sasuke could see that Orochimaru was now approaching him.

Looking back down to Sakura, he could see that the angle of the island hid her from Orochimaru's view. Thinking fast, Sasuke had to make a decision. As the spray of the waterfall mixed and dripped with his sweat, Sasuke looked into Sakura's eyes and whispered.

_"I'll find you..." _

Letting go of his grip, Sasuke watched as Sakura's pink hair faded into the mist.

Slowly pushing himself up, Sasuke found himself standing face to face with Orochimaru.

"So, Sasuke," hissed Orochimaru in anger. "You made me come all the way out here to make sure you're not dead. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Sasuke was silent.

"Now is not the time to be taking veangence on Itachi. You are not ready yet. You already know this."

_"Urusai..."_ said Sasuke, gritting his teeth.

"Let's go, Sasuke."

"...I'm not done here yet."

"If you wanted to get back at your brother so badly, then you should have just killed Sakura and gotten it over with. Now you've got Jiraiya and the others involved," Orochimaru frowned. "...It was a real miscalculation on your part... Your yearn for revenge is turning out to be quite troublesome."

"I'm not done here," said Sasuke with a serious face.

Orochimaru stared at Sasuke with a look of annoyance. Behind him, Sasuke could see Itachi and Kisame fighting a clone of Orochimaru.

"Fine..." said Orochimaru. "Kill her, and be done with it."

Turning his back to Sasuke, Orochimaru stopped to look over his shoulder at him.

"I expect you won't take long..."

With that last note Orochimaru disappeared, but Sasuke knew that all he did was buy himself some time. Crossing to the other side, Sasuke made his way down to find Sakura.

* * *

As Jiraiya made his way over to where Akatsuki and Orochimaru were fighting, the battle that was being waged between Kakashi, Neji, and Kabuto was intense. Unable to move properly, Naruto and Lee were forced to watch from the sidelines, but every now and then, Lee's taijuitsu abililites allowed him to get a knee in whenever Kabuto got pushed close. Naruto on the other hand, proved to be incredibly clumsy without the use of one foot. His inabilitly to be involved in the fight drove him mad, and as usual, he resorted to an irrational move.

"KAGE BUUSHIN NO JUITSU!!" yelled Naruto.

Two clones without the use of their foot appeared on either side of Naruto. After creating a rasengan in his right hand, the two clones grabbed him by the pants and jacket, flinging him through the air at Kabuto. The improper balance of both clones however, caused Naruto to instead go sideways, nearly hitting Neji with his rasengan instead. As Naruto skidded across the ground, Kabuto laughed at his futile attempt.

Suddenly Orochimaru appeared beside Kabuto, and placing his hand on his shoulder, Kabuto knew that it was time to take their leave. As a whisp of smoke took them away, everyone left behind knew that it was better to go looking for Sakura instead of chasing after their backs. Looking over to where Akatsuki and Jiraiya stood, they could see that the battle had finished there too.

"Where's Sakura-chan?" said Naruto looking around desperately to see if Itachi had gotten to her.

"I don't know..." said Kakashi, his voice calm and cool. "...but Sasuke's gone too..."


	17. Chapter 17

The only thing Sakura knew was that she was about to drown. The impact of her landing in the pool below slapped the right side of her so hard that she could still feel her ribs trobbing as she was now being tossed in a cyclone of water and foam. She was tumbling beneath the surface of the water so harshly that it was hard for her to get a grasp of which way was up. Everytime she managed to take a breath of air she also took in a wash of water. As she was shoved back below the surface she did her best to cough out the water and not breathe it back in.

Desperation set in. Her lungs were burning. She didn't know how long she was being tossed in the rapids, but it felt like an eternity even though it was really just three minutes so far.

_THUMP!_

Sakura screamed beneath the water in pain. She had been slammed against a rock. At the moment of impact she felt something crack in her side, and she knew immediately that it was a rib. As the current stretched her body around both sides of the rock, she was left in limbo until the current finally pushed her in one direction. Clawing with her hands to get to the surface, she gasped a deep breath before being shoved back down.

The rapids were so strong that she couldn't use her chakra to get a grip. The only thing she could do was wait until she had reached further down the stream where the current would be less strong, if that should be the case.

As Sakura rounded a bend in the river, she did not see that there was a second, but much smaller waterfall up ahead. When she reached it, she felt herself being sucked down before being slammed against a shallow riverbed. Sakura couldn't tell at the time, but the branches of a broken tree that lay wedged between the river stones had scratched her legs so that they bled like little papercuts.

Sakura's end seemed near as the current again swept her away, and though many would think that she'd be contemplating her death, this kind of situation just doesn't allow for it. Being tossed in the rapids only put one emotion into Sakura's heart, and that emotion was the will to live.

_No..._ she felt in her heart as she was dragged under. _I'm going to live..._

There were no thoughts of Itachi, Naruto, Sasuke, or Kakashi, just her pure instinct of fighting to live.

_Get out... _she said to herself. That's all she could say, and as Sakura fought the current she suddenly found strength within herself to defeat a growing tide of despair. Pushing herself out of the water, she did her best to scout ahead.

Up ahead she could see the river split into two directions. Which one she would take, Sakura didn't know until she felt it rip her down the left path.

Several more minutes insued. Swimming from side to side, Sakura tried hard to dodge the rocks that lay in her path. Then she saw it: a branch. Up ahead, there was a tree that hung its branches low enough over the water.

_This is it, _she thought. _My last chance._

Going with the current Sakura slowly made her way to the side of the river that would bring the branch into her path. As she timed it in her head, Sakura used whatever energy she had left to concentrate chakra on her hands.

_There!_ she thought as she shot her hand up and snatched at the branch, but it missed. The second hand shot up after she passed it, and somehow this time she managed to latch onto the tree as it bounced with the weight of her.

With the pressure of the river now breaking against her, Sakura pulled up her other hand to get a better hold. Following along the branch she inched her way to the side of the river where a high bank blocked her path. Swinging her leg up onto the bank, Sakura used her remaining strength to pull herself up and over the edge, before rolling over in exhaustion.

Peeking open her eyes, Sakura only saw the blur of sunlight through the trees as she could once again hear the sound of birds in the forest mixed with the sound of rushing water. Her breathing was fast and her body was cold, but as her mind passed into darkness, Sakura knew that the sun would take care of these things while she slept.

* * *

Things were not going too well on Kakashi's side. As they lay there debating over the next move, Naruto was getting impatient.

"Forget about us already! Just go find Sakura!" yelled Naruto as he sat next to Lee.

The party had not yet moved from the plains as they were trying to think of their next move. Being that Naruto and Lee were unable to walk, the team was debating whether to leave them behind.

"No, Naruto," said Kakashi. "This is a rescue mission. What's the point of a rescue if we end up losing two more of our own?"

"If only Ino were here..." mumbled Lee.

Upon their departure from Konoha, Tsunade could not find a medical shinobi to accompany the team. Being that Ino was out on a mission, they could not afford to wait for her and were forced to leave on a dangerous mission such as this without a medical shinobi as a precaution. Now, however, the team was regretting the decision made in haste.

"Well, this argument is about to either grow bigger or diminish, because here comes the rest," said Neji, nodding over to where Akatsuki and Jiraiya were walking from.

As Naruto was the first to burst into his reasoning, Jiraiya shook his head.

"It's great that you want to give up everything for Sakura, Naruto," said Jiraiya, "but what do you think you would do if you were me and I were you?"

"It doesn't matter," said Naruto. "If Sakura goes, we lose Sasuke forever."

"You still consider him your friend, even after all he had done to Sakura?" asked Deidara.

Naruto looked to the ground. He had almost forgotten what had happened.

"He's protecting her..." said Itachi after a moment of silence.

The shock of the news made Naruto shake his head to hear it again.

"Wh-What?" Naruto asked as the others remained silent to listen to his reasoning.

Itachi looked down at Naruto and no one else.

"He's protecting her..." Itachi continued. "There was a moment back there when I noticed that Sasuke was not running away from us... but from Orochimaru... From what I've seen, Sakura was trusting him, and she would not do that without good reason."

Everyone stared at him blankly. They could not see what he was saying. Realizing that he would have to explain further, Itachi battled his silent nature and thought of how to phrase his reasoning.

"When I first came upon them, the body language between Sasuke and Sakura was non-threatening. When he was leading her across the plains, she did not resist, nor did she look tired from resisting. When Orochimaru showed up however, Sasuke could have taken the opportunity to enact his revenge."

"But he threatened Sakura in front of us," said Neji.

"Yes, but I could see in his eyes that it was an empty threat," said Itachi. "What I'm saying is that Sasuke had the opportunity to kill Sakura when Orochimaru arrived, but instead he ran away. As I chased after them, Sakura did not try to resist. It was as if they had an alterior motive for running..."

Everyone was silent.

"...and that is why I did not chase after them just now... My presence maddens Sasuke, so much to the point that he just might do something stupid to Sakura. Also, if I had really made a move to attack Sasuke back there, Orochimaru might have just killed Sakura himself to eliminate Sasuke's distraction, rather than risk Sasuke getting killed by me. When he disappeared with Kabuto instead though, I knew that he had left Sasuke to finish what he had started, making me think that Orochimaru did not realize what was happening... In essence, Sasuke is setting himself up for failure in Orochimaru's eyes to save her..."

Jiraiya stood there with his arms crossed. Soon after, he spoke.

"So... what we've learned is that Orochimaru still fears losing Sasuke's allegiance and dares not to cross him in case he rebels..."

"We've also learned that Sasuke is not yet lost," said Naruto, looking up at Deidara.

"So if that's the case, what do we do next?" asked Kakashi, scratching his head. "We shouldn't get too close, but there's still a risk that Orochimaru might show up and kill her if he figures things out, and I don't think Sasuke would be able to handle things then."

"Either way, where we need to be is with Sakura, but I didn't see her with Sasuke when the snake struck. Did you?" asked Kisame to Itachi.

Itachi shook his head.

"Well," said Kakashi. "Here we go again..."

Motioning, Kakashi summoned his pack of ninja dogs. After explaining the situation they took off towards the waterfall and jumping from rock to rock, sniffed out Sakura's last notable impression.

As the team walked slowly across the plain with Naruto and Lee hobbling in tow, Pakkun returned.

"Kakashi," said Pakkun. "Sakura's scent disappears right around the center island of the waterfall. There's no trace of her in the forest behind."

"Hmmm, so she went down the river, huh?"

"There's just one problem..." said Pakkun, lowering his head.

When the group finally made it to the waterfall, they saw what gave Pakkun such a solemn face. Staring over the edge, they peered down at the rough waters far below.

"Whoah," said Deidara. "I didn't see that before..."

Itachi's stomach wrenched. He knew in his heart that Sakura went down those falls.

"Even for a shinobi, that is some fall to survive," said Kakashi taking a deep breath.

"Sakura-chan..." whispered Naruto.

The sheer volume of water pressure that slammed down below was too overwhelming. In their hearts they all knew that a waterfall such as this was strong enough to pin somebody to the bottom and drown them.

As Kakashi looked over to the other side, he could see one of his dogs shake its head, indicating that there was still no luck on that end.

"Well," said Kakashi. "We'll have to walk down the river's sides until we catch her scent."

"If we find her..." said Neji under his breath.

Lee was silent and he was tearing. To have come so far and find Sakura's soul taken by nature's force was worse than it being taken by an enemy, because to him it seemed more preventable.

"Right," said Deidara. "Here's what we'll do. Lee and Naruto can ride with me on the bird. I don't have much explosives left, but I have just enough to make one big enough to carry three. Don't do anything stupid and everything should be fine."

Itachi nodded to Kakashi who agreed, and as Deidara's tiny figurine of a bird transformed into a giant one, Kakashi helped Lee and Naruto get onto its back to take off.

"Stay behind the group!" shouted Kakashi to Deidara. "If there's an attack, you won't be able to get out as easily!"

"Hai!" yelled Deidara.

"So!" said Deidara to the two sitting behind him. "Welcome aboard! If you fall off, tough shit!"

* * *

Sasuke was bounding down the side of the river looking for Sakura. As he saw the rapids get more and more treacherous his heart sunk, but when he saw the second waterfall, it dropped into his stomach. Coming to a fork in the river, Sasuke paused to decide which way to go.

Looking for signs, Sasuke could find none, so he studied the river's current before deciding that he should try the left. Before he continued on he looked to the direction he came from and could feel that something was not far behind. His instincts told him that it wasn't Orochimaru, but nevertheless, he knew that he shouldn't wait for it to catch up.

Sasuke continued down the river for several more minutes before coming to the tree that Sakura had used to pull herself out. Noticing that there was blood upon the branch, Sasuke's eyes soon caught hold of a pink tinge.

_Sakura..._ he thought, picking up his pace to get there sooner.

When Sasuke got close, he could see that it indeed was her, lying there asleep with exhaustion.

Crouching down, Sasuke brushed the hair from her face.

"Sakura..." he whispered as he gently shook her.

"...Mmmmm..." moaned Sakura. Opening her eyes, she eventually made out his face. "Sasuke-kun... are you ok?"

"I'm fine, are you ok!?" he practically shouted at her.

"I'm fine... What happened to you?" she asked, rubbing her face.

"Orochimaru let me go thinking that I was going to finish you off. I don't have much time."

Sakura's eyes opened wide. She looked like she was gonna be sick. Rolling over to the edge of the river she vomited.

"...euuuhhh...what a ride..." she mumbled, remembering how much water she had swallowed.

"We need to go," said Sasuke as he watched her cup some water and bring it to her mouth for a rinse.

"Mmm.." agreed Sakura.

Grabbing back onto the branch, Sakura pulled herself up but found that her muscles felt as if they were made of ramen noodles. Her strength was pretty much gone and her chakra was definitely drained.

Sasuke, noticing the change in movement, knelt down to indicate to her to get on his back.

"Arigatou, Sasuke-kun..." mumbled Sakura as she was quickly dispelled back into sleep.

_We're not far from Konoha_, thought Sasuke. _If I hurry, I can get her there by nightfall. _

Giving a little jump to shoulder her better, Sasuke began to bound north towards Konoha.

* * *

"Aaaaah, CRAP..." said Deidara when they came to the fork in the river. Down below, the others were just as discouraged.

Kakashi looked to the other side of the river to where half of his team of ninja dogs were stopped, awaiting orders.

"Well Kakashi," said Pakkun, "we haven't picked up her scent as of yet. What's your decision?"

Looking at the current, Kakashi felt that the left would be the best bet.

"Left seems to be the way to go, but, I don't think we should forsake the right side in case she did end up going that way...We'll split up," said Kakashi.

"Alright," said Jiraiya. "Who should go where?"

"Hmmm... Jiraiya, you should probably stick with Naruto and keep the Kyuubi in check."

"Mmmm," said Jiraiya, nodding in agreement.

"Well, since there's less of a chance that they'll be on the right, take the injured down that path. I think the rest of us should go down this way," suggested Kakashi. "Do you think Deidara will be able to watch the two and fight if need be?"

"You greatly underestimate Deidara..." interrupted Kisame. "He was chosen for Akatsuki due to his excellence in calculation and assassination skills. He fights a battle like one would in chess, by playing offense and defense simultaneously. Did you forget he managed to take down Gaara?"

"Ok," said Jiraiya. "You guys can go that way and I'll take the two buffoons with me and Deidara. If anything happens, signal Deidara or something."

"Actually, if we get attacked, we shouldn't signal you at all. Putting Naruto at risk to get killed is what Orochimaru would want, and it would risk our lives considering his irrational behavior," said Kisame.

Everyone nodded in agreement before parting ways. As Kakashi, Itachi, Kisame, and Neji followed the left side of the river, they could hear Naruto arguing at the top of his lungs to Jiraiya below on why they weren't going down the more likely path.

"Hmph," said Kisame looking over his shoulder, "I'm glad that idiot is gone."

* * *

As the sun was setting behind the mountains, Sasuke was beginning to recognize the forests near Konoha. In his mind he was hoping that the ANBU weren't lurking in the area. If Konoha found out about him helping Sakura, it would definitely reach Orochimaru's ears.

"Mmmm..." mumbled Sakura, finally awake. "Where are we?"

"We're almost to Konoha. Can you walk?"

"Hai..." said Sakura climbing down. "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun. I can make it back from here..."

Sasuke nodded and turned his back to leave.

"S-Sasuke-kun..." stammered Sakura.

Sasuke stopped.

"...Are you sure you don't want to come back?..."

Sasuke was silent for a moment. After a while, he turned around and gave her a hug.

Sasuke felt like his heart was bleeding. He couldn't say in words how lonely the path he had chosen really was. He was almost always alone, and almost always thinking about home in Konoha. However, as they stood there in silence, Sakura could not see that Sasuke's face was troubled with memories. He still felt in his heart that his path lay with Orochimaru, atleast for a while. He simply couldn't just go back to Konoha after all that had happened. Even more so, his heart still burned for revenge, and this feeling would not change, not even for Sakura.

Releasing her, Sasuke once again turned to leave. This time however, Sakura did not say anything. She knew his decision and knew that she could not stop him.

"Arigatou..." she whispered in sadness.

Sakura could see Naruto's face in her mind and knew that his heart would break all over again when she finally saw him. As she watched Sasuke's image fade into the shadow of the trees, she did not turn to go to Konoha until he had completely vanished.

As sunset cast a golden light upon the trees, Sakura walked for about a half hour with a heavy heart, pondering as to where her future lie. Sasuke was still lost to revenge, Naruto and her would still feel that emptiness from losing him, and as for Itachi, she didn't know what would happen to them when she got back. Questions burned through her mind like a fiery blaze. Would she leave with him? Would she stay in Konoha? And then there was that ever realistic question: Even if she did want to go with him, would he let her?

A pain seared through Sakura's heart. It wasn't really pain but rather the memory of pain, the pain that she felt the last time Itachi left her in Konoha. Even if she didn't think it would happen again, she knew that there was a more than fair chance that it would.

Stopping suddenly, Sakura tilted her head in thought. Up until this moment, there was one question that she was missing, something they were all missing, and that was: "Why didn't Orochimaru try to obtain her again if he hadn't found out that she couldn't heal him? Why did he let Sasuke go? Did he figure it out?"

Sakura felt her gut wrench. Something was wrong. Immediately taking off into a sprint, Sakura rushed as fast as she could towards Konoha.

_No..._ she thought. _No..._

Coming to the edge of a hill so that Sakura could make out the lights of Konoha in the distance, she ran down the side and continued on until she came into a huge clearing.

_I've reached the outer training grounds!_ Sakura thought to herself.

However, as Sakura came out into the open air, her realization came true. Skidding to a hault, Sakura stopped breathing.

Standing before her like an ominous sign was Kabuto and Orochimaru.


	18. Chapter 18

"Hello, Sakura..." said Orochimaru, smiling with malice.

Sakura took a deep breath and stood up straight. So, this was the moment of truth.

"Are you ready to heal me now?" said Orochimaru.

_So, he didn't figure it out afterall... _thought Sakura.

Sakura thought fast. She didn't know if Orochimaru knew about Sasuke helping her, but she knew that she shouldn't mention anything that would hint to it.

"Still thinking I'm going to just willfully help you, Orochimaru?" said Sakura bravely. "Hmph, you must be joking..."

"Why, such sassy words from someone I could easily kill. Do you think I'd wait around for you to do it willfully?"

Sakura thought she should cement the secrecy of Sasuke's help before engaging in any combat. Taking a defensive stance, Sakura looked side to side.

"Where's Sasuke?" she asked.

"I left him behind," said Orochimaru. "Sasuke was never the one to help me in this endeavor. All he dreams of is revenge... He'd sooner kill you to spite Itachi than get you to help me."

"Well, I'm afraid you were better off letting him kill me, because it looks like you're not going to get my help AND you're going to have Sasuke pissed at you after I die... IF I die, and you'd better pray I do..."

"How wonderful it is that you're so willing to die. I've never seen such enthusiasm... Tell me, Sakura, is this willingness coming from the guilt of having slept with the murderer of the Uchiha clan?"

That remark pissed Sakura off. Clenching her fist she slammed it into the earth, splitting the ground that Orochimaru and Kabuto stood on into a deep crevice. As a piece of rock dropped down in front of her, Sakura gave it kick that sent it flying at Orochimaru. The fight was on.

Sakura was so enraged that she didn't care about what Kabuto was doing. Realizing this, Kabuto stood aside and let Orochimaru do the persuading.

Orochimaru immediately engaged in hand to hand combat with Sakura, which pissed her off even further. The fact that he didn't feel that she was worthy enough to pull out all the stops was insulting.

Getting a hold of his wrist, Sakura slammed Orochimaru to the floor before dealing a deadly blow to the abdomen. The ground beneath him shattered, and as her fist settled into his flesh she could feel that it was not really him.

Bounding backwards, Sakura paused to sense Orochimaru's next move. Pulling out two kunai, Sakura held the blade in her left hand pointing forward, and the one in the right pointing backward. Holding her left out in front and the other behind her, Sakura prepared for his attack from both front and back. Widening her stance, Sakura calmed her breathing until everything fell silent.

The wind brushed the blades of grass and flicked Sakura's hair. She could see from the side of her eye that Kabuto stood well away from the battlefield.

Closing her eyes, Sakura began to feel for Orochimaru's presence because she could not see him.

_Fine..._ she thought._ If I can't feel him, then I'll let him come to me. _

Relaxing, she let herself open.

Snakes burst forth from the ground beneath Sakura and wrapped themselves around her legs. Suddenly a sword pierced from the ground in front of her and stabbed her through the shoulder. At the other end of it was Orochimaru.

Snaking out of the ground, Orochimaru grinned and twisted the blade, but as soon as he did so, Sakura's body puffed into smoke and revealed that she had used a replacement juitsu. Orochimaru had stabbed a rock.

Kabuto straightened up. He had not seen Sakura perform the juitsu. The level that Sakura was at was far more than he and Orochimaru had expected, and now it was Orochimaru's turn to figure out where Sakura was.

Suddenly there was a bloodcurdling scream. Orochimaru turned to see that Sakura had appeared behind Kabuto and jammed both kunai into Kabuto's shoulderblades. As she pinned him to the earth, she looked over to Orochimaru with bloodthirsty eyes, then twisted the blades in Kabuto's back so that he screamed further. The blood from Kabuto's back shot out and sprayed her face. The look she had was menacing.

Orochimaru's surprise was written all over his face. Sakura's original plan was not to eliminate Orochimaru, she knew she couldn't do it, so she went for the one she could.

Orochimaru had to act quick or his own medical ninja would be taken from him. Sending snakes shooting down the blade of his sword, it shot over to Sakura who moved out of the way before they got to her.

Orochimaru rushed to guard Kabuto, and stared at Sakura with troubled eyes. He had underestimated her.

"So, it looks like I'm going to have to kill you afterall," said Orochimaru.

Sakura didn't answer, she just stared at him with those fiery green eyes. There was nothing more to be said. It was now Sakura's last dance before death.

As Orochimaru stared over to her, he could not help but admire the handywork of Tsunade. Sakura's fearsome eyes and Tsunade-like temperament reminded him of the fall that the Sakura blossoms take when their life is at its end.

_Glorious..._ he muttered.

Orochimaru reached down and pulled the blades out of Kabuto's back. As Kabuto yelled in pain, Orochimaru never took his eyes off of her.

"Heal yourself," ordered Orochimaru.

As Kabuto sat up, he looked over at Sakura, pissed out of his mind.

Orochimaru pointed his sword at Sakura. In turn, Sakura once again took her stance.

Shooting forward Orochimaru stabbed at Sakura. As she ducked out of the way, she slashed at his face with her left hand, slicing his cheek before coming in with a right punch to his jaw.

The effect wasn't as strong. Sakura could feel that her chakra wasn't up to par because of her fight with the rapids. Dismissing this fact as soon as it was realized, Sakura deemed it irrelevant and brought her left fist up for an uppercut.

Orochimaru flew back but sliced at her as he did, and felt it connect. Looking down, Sakura saw that there was now a gaping hole in her shirt. Sakura grabbed at her side in pain, so Orochimaru took the opportunity to strike in her moment of vulnerability, but it was what she wanted.

As Orochimaru lodged at her with his sword, she used the kunai to catch and slide up his blade to bring her arm up to elbow him in the face. Stunned, Orochimaru saw that the place that he had sliced was not bleeding. As Orochimaru flew back once again, Sakura dropped the kunai in her left hand and grabbed the hilt of the sword to disarm him. When she did so, however, a snake shot from Orochimaru's sleeve and wrapped around her left arm.

Recognizing the possibilty of poison, Sakura used the kunai in her right hand to slash off its head before it bit her. Shaking its lifeless body off, Sakura stood back to see that Orochimaru was gone, along with the sword.

Looking around in haste to see if he was coming, she once again found herself faced with silence. Finally she turned and found that Orochimaru's face was two feet from hers.

_POW!!_

Sakura's head swirled with stars. Orochmaru was furious and had head-butted her in retaliation. As Sakura stumbled backwards, she felt a knee contact her back and she looked up to see that Kabuto had joined the fight. Falling towards the earth, Sakura opened her eyes to see a foot coming towards her face, so she moved her kunai in the way, but the foot missed and smashed the right side of her face instead.

Sakura began slashing blindly in an effort stave off the attacks so that she could stand. When she managed to get up, she punched at Kabuto but missed since her mind was still in a blur. Jumping back, Sakura distanced herself from them to shake things off.

Suddenly a big dog came out of nowhere and lunged at Orochimaru. Punching the dog, Orochimaru sent it tumbling across the ground with a yelp.

"Kakashi!" gasped Sakura, looking into the darkness for the flash of his silver hair.

As another dog leapt at Orochimaru, Sakura wasted no time in attacking Kabuto. Lunging at him, she heard Neji shout.

"Byakuugan!"

Sakura's strikes at Kabuto shoved him back, and immediately Neji stepped in and took over. Taking a deep breath, Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Kisame looking down at her with a proud smile.

Stepping in front of her, Kisame gestured for her to move back, so she trotted away looking over her shoulder. As Kisame guarded her, they ran away from the fight so as to get her out of danger.

"Where's Itachi!?" she asked.

"See for yourself!" shouted Kisame.

As they came to rest a short distance away, Sakura could see that Itachi was now engaged in a heated battle against Orochimaru with Kakashi by his side.

"I'm afraid I'll have to leave you if that Neji fails," said Kisame, watching Neji's battle intently.

As the fight waged on, Orochimaru had his hands full with three Sharingans on his tail.

Now that she thought about it, she could once again see reasoning in Tsunade's choice of her rescuers. Neji had turned out to be the perfect match for Kabuto, and was not only fending off Kabuto's medical skills, but making it more and more difficult for him to do so. One by one, Neji began to hit the chakra points in Kabuto's body, screwing up his chakra flow so that his medical juitsus were less effective. Kabuto wasn't stupid either though, and as they fought, he too was managing to damage Neji's nerves along the way, slowing him down immensely.

"I think it's going to be a matter of who can last longer than the other," said Sakura, observing with a medical eye.

Suddenly however, Kabuto misled Neji and made a dash straight for Sakura. Even through the dark she could still see that he was enraged over her previous offense. The move was so quick that she was stunned for a brief second before realizing she needed to dodge. The attempt was short-lived however, as Sakura saw Kisame's sword rip through the air and blast Kabuto back like it was a baseball bat. Amazed, Sakura saw Kisame's blade churning beneath the bandages, excited from being fed chakra.

Over in Kakashi's corner, the Sharingans proved to have the speed and intuition of the fight, but Orochimaru's forbidden juitsus made it hard for them to deal any life-threatening blows. As the three fought, they soon realized that it was quite an even battle, but that's when the tide changed.

_"OROCHIMARU_!!"

Sakura heard Naruto's voice ring through the night. Looking all around, Sakura could not see him. Suddenly, out of the sky dropped Naruto and Lee.

"Sakura! Quick! Heal us!!" shouted Naruto, sticking his ankle out to her but keeping his eyes on the fight.

_BOOM_!!

Sakura saw an explosion set off right where Orochimaru had landed. Apparently Deidara managed to slip in some explosives thanks to the darkness. As a swirl of blue light picked up, everyone turned to see that Jiraiya and Kakashi had teamed up to deliver a Rasengan and Chidori to Orochimaru's body, and as they crashed down in a barage of fearsome energy, it seemed that the fight could be won even though they had missed.

Orochimaru frowned at the situation. He knew that they had lost. His only hope was to once again get away with Kabuto.

This time Kabuto didn't have to be told, he knew the outcome of the battle once Jiraiya and the others arrived. Dodging Neji, Kabuto threw an explosive note attached to a kunai at Neji, before disappearing in the explosion that ensued.

A giant snake burst forth from the ground between Orochimaru and his opponents, and the moment they lost sight of him was the moment he took his leave. As soon as he had escaped, the snake dissipated leaving nothing behind. When the dust settled, Kakashi and the others realized he was gone.

Sakura screamed in anger. She was furious that once again he had managed to get away. Suddenly tearing, she realized that the torment would never end, that she would live her life with that kind of fear.

Collapsing to her knees, Sakura wept in hopelessness. Everyone around her could not say anything, nor did they know what to say, but it was Itachi who knew what to do.

Coming to her side, Itachi kneeled before and put his hands on her. The moment she realized it was him, she fell forward into his embrace and buried her face in his chest. As she sobbed uncontrollably in frustration, she clutched at his cloak and squeezed.

Kisame, knowing how tough it must be for her, looked at the others and walked down the path towards Konoha. The others seeing his face, followed suit.

* * *

When Sakura finally calmed down, she looked up at Itachi and wrapped her arms around his neck. Hugging her tenderly, Itachi pushed her back so that he could brush the tear-soaked hair from her face, and began scanning her body for injuries. Being a man of very little words, Itachi merely looked at her with eyes that said it was going to be alright. Standing up, he put his arm around her and led her down the path after the others.

With only the night air and the sound of the crickets surrounding them, Sakrua knew that this was her only chance.

"Itachi..." she said softly. "What do I do now?"

Itachi came to a stop. Pulling her towards him he shielded her with his arms and placed his cheek upon her head. After a moment of silence, he spoke.

"You know what you need to do..."

Sakura leaned back to look at him.

"Please..." she said. "...Please don't leave me again..."

"Sakura... I love you... You know that I would do anything in this world to protect you, but you know that you cannot follow my path. There is too much here for you, and there is too much danger where I am going. You have to stay."

"But..." said Sakura tearing, her breaths becoming short. "I... I just can't live there without you. Being without you is like living in emptiness. I...I just can't!"

Tears began to stream down Sakura's face. She was looking back and forth in a panic as to how she would face this loneliness again.

"Every second that you're gone, I'm thinking about you. After a while, I begin to lose my grasp of you and it feels like I am just... just drowning! The little things... things like what you look like, smell like, feel like, it all begins to disappear after a while and I begin to go crazy!! Everything begins to become nothing and my whole life feels like an empty shell! Please! You cannot leave me here again! I know what lies down that path!" Sakura screamed, pointing towards Konoha. "...but what I don't know lies with you...Please... take me..."

Itachi was tearing, and he didn't even know it. Being away from her broke his heart as well. He remembered living in darkness since he had last left her, and how everything seemed to mean nothing to him without her. She was like a beacon of light that he had found while being lost. She warmed his soul and completed his being.

_No..._ he thought, clenching his fists. _I can't let her..._

Pulling her in towards him, he squeezed. Sakura could feel his tears falling upon her head and she could feel him trembling.

"Please..." she mumbled from his chest. "Please don't leave me again..."

After a while, Itachi put his hands on her shoulder and pushed her back.

"No..." he said. "You have to go back."

Sakura was silent. The look on his face said that there was no reasoning with him. Taking her hand, Itachi lead her down the path through the darkness.

* * *

As the others stood waiting by the southern gate, they soon made out Itachi and Sakura's figures in the moonlight. When the two reached them, they could tell that Sakura had been crying, and most likely not from the fight.

"Kisame, Deidara..." said Itachi.

Kisame and Deidara glanced at Sakura in confusion. After a while, they realized that they were actually going to leave Sakura again this time around, and after a few hesitant steps, they began to make their way back up the path.

Itachi squeezed Sakura's hand before letting go, and walked away after Kisame and Deidara. Not once did Itachi look back. Sakura didn't turn around either. She didn't want the last image of him to be his back, so she simply continued to look down at the ground.

The others around her stood still and watched the scene come to an end. They were all sad for Sakura, but they knew that Itachi did it because he loved her.

Everyone waited until the dark figures of the unlikely allies disappeared. As soon as they did, Kakashi then went and put an arm around Sakura and led her through the gate.

"Sakura-chan... As a man, I understand his decision...But, there is also something else I understand," said Kakashi, leaning down to look her in the eye. "... He'll be back. Like two souls of one heart, one cannot be without the other..."

With that, Kakashi gave a smile, and Sakura's eyes opened in the realization that what he said was true. Giving him a hug, Sakura was greatful to have such a sensei.

"Come on," said Kakashi. "Let's walk you home."

"That's ok, Kakashi-sensei. I can take it from here," said Sakura, trying to give a reassuring smile. Bowing in thanks to the others, she turned and walked down the street back to her home.

* * *

The walk back was dark and cold. It was already late, and the streets were practically empty. The quiet ambiance of her hometown left Sakura feeling more empty than ever.

Sakura's heart seemed to have glazed over. She couldn't believe that Itachi had left her again, but at the same time, she could. She thought that she should have seen this coming, and that it was really no surprise at all. It was evident that he did it because he loved her, but somehow she could not find it in her heart to forgive him. She knew that this was still the best decision, but that still didn't stop her from hating him in a way.

As Sakura approached the familiar part of the road where her front door fell just out of the streetlamp's reach, she noticed that there was someone waiting for her.

"Neji?" Sakura asked, confused.

Leaning against the wall was Neji, waiting for her. When he saw her, he stood up and walked to stand before her.

"Sakura... there's something I need to tell you..."


	19. Chapter 19

Sakura sat at the dinner table as her mother fussed about. Time seemed to fly. After a while, she excused herself to go to bed, and felt her mother's loving eyes watch her as she went up the stairs to her bedroom.

When Sakura felt that her mother was asleep, she waited until the clock struck two. Sitting up, Sakura grabbed a bag that she had packed earlier in the night and shouldering it, placed a note upon her desk that said:

_"Okaasan - _

_Don't worry about me. I will be fine. _

_I love you._

_- Sakura"_

Sliding open the door to her balcony, Sakura jumped down onto the street and began to walk towards the eastern gate. Every step that she took felt heavy with sorrow. Breathing a deep sigh, she knew that this was something she must do.

As Sakura neared the eastern gate, she came upon Neji who was waiting for her. Stopping next to him, she took his hands in hers.

"Arigatou, Neji," she said with a worried smile. "Please, don't tell anyone, not even Tsunade-sama. I'm scared that if she finds out, even she will come looking for me... As for Naruto, please, take care of him."

Neji nodded. "If you need anything, please do not hesitate to let me know."

Sakura sighed a deep sigh, smiled, and gave him a hug. Holding her hand, Neji walked her to the gate where he had knocked out the two guards at the post.

Waving to him, Sakura then turned to walk up the dirt road away from Konoha, and disappeared into the evening mist.

* * *

The next morning was a bright and beautiful day in Konoha. The birds seemed happy and were chirping with glee. The Hokage's office, however, seemed to have a single dark cloud hanging over the sign for fire. Anyone passing by could feel the negative energy emanating from the building.

"Does anyone know why Sakura would leave?" asked Tsunade.

Standing before Tsunade's desk were Kakashi, Jiraiya, Naruto, Lee, and Neji.

"No, Tsunade-sama, we did not walk her back to her home, but there was no indication that she would have reason to leave. Itachi had left her here with us for the same reason as before, and it was unlikely that he would have accepted her if she left on her own accord," said Kakashi.

Tsunade sighed. "I've known Sakura for a few years now. She is not the immature girl she once was, I saw to that myself. She would never leave on a whim... If Sakura left, there must be something she is hiding from us..."

"I'm really worried about her. It's unlike her..." mumbled Shizune with TonTon in her arms.

"Could she have been taken?" asked Jiraiya.

"No," said Tsunade. "The guards at the eastern gate were knocked out and left in peace. It was definitely her that did it. There's no other reason I can find. Her home showed no signs of struggle, and her mother informed me that she had left a note indicating that she had chosen to leave. If that's the case, then we have no right to follow her... perhaps she was too sad that she left..."

As the discussion and speculation continued on, everyone remained silent. Neji however, was looking towards the ground in thought, and his mind drew over the events that took place that night.

In his mind he could see himself coming from behind to take Sakura's place in the fight with Kabuto, and he remembered seeing that there was something wrong with Sakura's chakra flow. It was not until he had reached the southern gate that he had realized it:

Sakura was pregnant.

* * *

- The End -

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! I had an idea suddenly spring upon me to make it a trilogy, WHICH I'VE ALREADY STARTED AND ADDED!!!! Check it out! ;) Oh, and uh, **PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW!!!!** I never know if people are even making it to the end because they got bored!!!! Plus it helps my writing mojo... hehehehe.....

- iloveneji44


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